WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Wednesday (Apr 15) the United States is past the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and that he will announce guidelines for reopening the economy on Thursday, as the country's death toll surged past 30,000.

More than 30,800 people have died of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by coronavirus, in the United States as of Wednesday afternoon, according to a Reuters tally. Deaths rose by 2,371 in the previous day, setting a record for the second day in a row.



That total includes more than 4,000 deaths newly attributed to the disease in New York City, the center of the pandemic, after health officials revised their counting methods to include "probable," but untested, cases.

Cases topped 635,000 in the United States and 2 million globally.

Despite the spike in deaths, there were tentative signs in some parts of the country that the outbreak was beginning to ebb.



Governors of about 20 states with few coronavirus cases believe they may be ready to start the process of reopening their economies by President Donald Trump's May 1 target date, a top US health official said on Wednesday.

Of the 50 US states, 17 reported fewer than 100 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday.

"It is clear that our aggressive strategy is working," President Donald Trump told a news conference on Wednesday. "The battle continues but the data suggests that nationwide we have passed the peak on new cases."

Trump added that "these encouraging developments have put us in a very strong position to finalise guidelines for states on reopening the country."

He said he would discuss this in a news conference on Thursday, "announcing guidelines."

Facing a tough re-election in November, the Republican president has been bullish on reopening the world's largest economy as soon as possible.

On Monday, he threatened to invoke his "total" power to force state governors to follow his directives on reopening, prompting an outcry.

He backpedaled on the comment the following day, saying he was not going to put "any pressure" on governors to reopen.

"We'll be opening up states, some states much sooner than others," Trump said during his Wednesday briefing. "We think some of the states can open up before the deadline of May 1."

"We'll be the comeback kids, all of us."

Anthony Fauci, the veteran US pandemic expert, said in a televised interview Sunday that parts of the country could begin easing restrictions in May, but cautioned that reopening would not work like a "light switch."

The governors of Connecticut, Maryland, New York and Pennsylvania each issued orders or recommendations of varying severity that residents wear face masks as they emerge from isolation in the coming weeks. The Centers for Disease Control previously recommended masks as a way to slow the virus' spread.

"If you are going to be in public and you cannot maintain social distancing, then have a mask, and put that mask on," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in announcing an order requiring face coverings when people cannot maintain six feet of distance from others.

Similar orders were imposed in New Jersey and Los Angeles last week, and California Governor Gavin Newsom has suggested residents across the nation's most populous state would likely be wearing masks in public for some time to come.

READ: Trump attack on WHO rocks global efforts to unite against virus

"We are going to be getting back to normal; it will be a new normal," Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont said, echoing a phrase used by at least two of his fellow governors in recent days.

The sweeping closures of businesses have battered the US economy, leaving millions of Americans unemployed and store owners struggling to pay rent.

Fresh government data released on Wednesday showed that retail sales dropped by 8.7 per cent in March, the biggest decline since tracking began in 1992. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of US economic activity.

In addition, output at US factories declined by the most since 1946 as the pandemic fractured supply chains.

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