
The World Health Organization has warned the United States has the potential to become the new coronavirus epicenter following a 'very large acceleration' in infections.

Over the past 24 hours, 85 percent of new cases were from Europe and the United States, WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told reporters on Tuesday. Of those, 40 percent were from the United States.

Italy currently has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the world with more than 6,000, after abruptly overtaking China - where the outbreak began in late December and 3,281 people have died - late last week.

But the US is on pace to become the new leader after its death toll climbed to 628 on Tuesday, with more than 50,000 cases reported nationwide.

Over the past week, there has been a surge of new cases as testing across the country increases. On Monday alone, more than 11,000 new positive cases were confirmed and 100 new deaths were reported, the largest single-day spike to date.

Seventeen hard-hit states are now in various forms of lockdown as experts say the peak is yet to come and that the current state of crisis will last for another several months, at least.

Asked whether the United States could become the new epicenter, Harris said: 'We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential.'

'They [the US] have a very large outbreak and an outbreak that is increasing in intensity,' she added, noting that she expects large increases in case numbers and deaths globally, which currently stand at 392,780 and 17,159 respectively.

The warning came hours after President Donald Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days and promised America will be open for business 'very soon' - despite warnings from medical experts that strict containment measures are still needed.

Trump offered a more concrete timeline on Tuesday, saying that he wants to reopen the economy by Easter on April 12 - just 19 days from now.

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The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that the US has the potential to become the new coronavirus epicenter following a 'very large acceleration' in infections. More than 11,000 new positive cases were confirmed nationwide Monday

The US death toll surpassed to 580 on Monday - a sharp rise of more than 100 in one day

The WHO warning came after President Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days and promised America will be open for business 'very soon' at a White House press briefing on Monday (pictured)

As of Tuesday afternoon more than 50,000 people in the US have tested positive for coronavirus and 628 have died

Trump doubled down on his calls to consider re-opening the economy in a tweet on Tuesday morning

Trump announced a new set of policies on Monday meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which included closing restaurants and banning social gatherings with more than 10 people.

But he indicated that he supports a quick return to normal life, citing the economic impact coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic.

'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' the president said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing.

'A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. Lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem.'

Trump complained about the caution brought by health care professionals, saying he told his team they would close the 'entire world'.

'I was telling them, if it was up to the doctors, they would keep it shut down, they would say: "let's shut down the entire world." You can't do that,' he said.

He doubled down on Tuesday - insisting he could re-open the economy while protecting at-risk populations from the coronavirus .

'Our people want to return to work,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'They will practice Social Distancing and all else, and Seniors will be watched over protectively & lovingly. We can do two things together. THE CURE CANNOT BE WORSE (by far) THAN THE PROBLEM! Congress MUST ACT NOW. We will come back strong!'

Hours later, he disclosed his goal to have a return to normal by Easter Sunday.

'I'd love to have it open by Easter. I will tell you that right now,' Trump told Fox News on Tuesday during a virtual town hall.

'It's such an important day for other reasons, but I will make it an important day for this. I would love to have the country opened up, and they are just raring to go, by Easter.'

'I think it's possible. Why isn't it? We've never closed the country before,' he added. 'We lose thousands and thousands of people a year to the flu. We don't turn the country off.'

This graph shows how the number of new cases in the United States per day compares with Italy over the past five days

This chart shows the number of daily new cases in China (red) and the US (blue), starting from the dates on which each country crossed the threshold of 30 new cases. Last Thursday, the US number of daily new cases surpassed China's peak

Trump's comments were met with outcry from medical experts including Tom Inglesby, a director at the John Hopkins Center for Health Security.

Inglesby warned coronavirus will 'spread widely, rapidly, terribly and millions could die' if Trump lifts lockdowns in the United States early.

Trump, however, has argued a bad economy could also cause death.

'You have almost 160 million jobs in this country now, by far the most ever. The number of jobs, almost 160 million, so we can't turn that off and think it's going to be wonderful.

'There'll be tremendous repercussions. There will be tremendous death from that. You're talking about death. Probably more death from that than anything we're talking about with respect to the virus.'

Some experts have predicted the US could experience up to 20 percent or 30 percent unemployment because of the coronavirus.

The rising tensions between Trump and medical experts came as:

Seventeen states have issued stay-at-home orders affecting some 187 million Americans: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and West Virginia

Governor Andrew Cuomo slammed Trump for only sending only 400 ventilators when New York needs 30,000, telling the president: 'You choose the 26,000 who die'

Trump demanded that Congress approve its proposed $2trillion bailout today after venting on Twitter that Democrats are holding up deal

US airlines are believed to be working on plans for a complete shutdown of all passenger flights across the country as air-traffic control systems begin to feel the effects of coronavirus

New York state is expected to begin trials for hydroxychloroquine, a malaria drug touted as a potential 'miracle' coronavirus treatment

Over the past week, there has been a surge of new cases as testing across the country increases

Medics are seen carting a patient out of the Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland, Washington, where 35 people have died since the US outbreak began

Medical personnel in hazmat suits at a drive-thru testing facility in Indianapolis on Monday

People line up outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens to be tested for the coronavirus on Tuesday

Fifteen states have implemented various forms of lock-down to stem the spread of coronavirus. The National Guard is active in all 50 states - pictured here in Maryland last week

Two members of the New York Army National Guard are seen directing traffic outside a testing center in Staten Island

Gov Cuomo slams Trump for sending only 400 ventilators when New York needs 30,000 as coronavirus cases in the state rise to 25,000 New York Governor Andrew Cuomo fumed at President Trump on Tuesday for sending New York 400 ventilators from the federal stockpile when the state needs 30,000 to battle coronavirus. Speaking at the Javits Center, which will become a temporary field hospital in New York City, Cuomo revealed that the number of coronavirus cases across the state of New York had risen to 25,000. He needs 30,000 ventilators to treat the wave of patients who will soon need care but FEMA has only given the state 400 from a stockpile of 20,000. 'You pick the 26,000 who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators,' he said. He went on to say that Trump and the government have told him they will not release the ventilators 'because companies are coming forward who want to do it.' Cuomo took aim at Trump during a press briefing at Manhattan's Javits Center on Tuesday (pictured) Trump boasted about the ventilators on Twitter, saying on Tuesday morning: 'Just got 400 ventilators to NYC!' Cuomo said that the state was so desperate for the ventilators that they had started experimenting by having two patients share one. 'We have procured 7,000 ventilators - we need another 30,000. You cannot find them. You cannot buy them. This is a critical and desperate need. 'We're going so far as to trying an experimental procedure where we split the ventilator - you use one ventilator for two patients with two sets of tubes,' he said. Cuomo warned that the 'apex' of the virus will hit New York in just 14-21 days. At worst, he predicts the state will need 140,000 hospital beds including 40,000 ICU beds and 30,000 ventilators. Advertisement

More than 160 million Americans on lockdown as 17 states impose stay-at-home orders

Seventeen states have implemented stay-at-home orders as of Tuesday, ordering 100 percent of their non-essential workforce to stop going into the office.

Grocery stores, pharmacies and other businesses that provide essential goods and services are allowed to continue operating.

Residents have been urged to remain at home except when absolutely necessary, such as trips to the supermarket or for medical care.

When going outside for walks or other exercise, they are expected to stay six feet away from others.

Numerous states have closed restaurants, gyms, bars, and clubs - taking a massive toll on the hospitality industry.

Trump has not implemented a nationwide stay-at-home orders because some states are seeing far fewer cases than others.

At Monday's press conference he suggested that the nation could watch 'hot spots' were there high levels of infection while opening other parts of the country.

'We're going to be watching very closely the hot spots. We're going to be taking care and watching closely our senior citizens, especially those with a problem or illness,' he said.

'We're going to be watching them very, very closely. And we can do that and have an open economy, have an open country.'

As the president talked economics and downplayed the medical portion, he was surrounded by fewer than usual numbers of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Attorney General Bill Barr and Dr Deborah Birx were present. Dr Tony Fauci, the nation's foremost expert in infectious diseases, was not. In recent weeks, Dr Fauci has garnered a reputation for repeatedly contradicting Trump's claims about coronavirus.

Asked if Fauci agreed with his emphasis on the economy, Trump replied: 'He doesn't not agree.'

He said that situation will be reassessed at the 15-day mark, which would be early next week.

'At the end of the 15-day period, we'll make a decision as to which way we want to go. Where we want to go. The timing. And essentially, we're referring to the timing of the opening. Essentially, the opening of our country. Because we have it pretty well shut down in order to get rid of this invisible enemy,' he said of the coronavirus.

The United States has had more than 41,000 cases of the virus but Trump said those numbers will start to decrease.

'Obviously, the numbers are going to increase with time. And then they're going to start to decrease. And we are going to be opening our country up for business because our country was meant to be open,' he said.

He added that lifting lockdown will not be just an economic decision, promising medical experts would have input.

'We, also, have a large team working on what the next steps will be once the medical community gives a region the okay. Meaning the okay to get going, to get back, let's go to work,' he said.

There are now more than 187 million people in various forms of lockdown across America as states choose to shut down non-essential businesses to battle the spread of coronavirus

Cities across the US have gone quiet as residents are ordered and urged to stay indoors. A usually-bustling Times Square in New York City is seen nearly empty on Tuesday morning

A woman passes by a boarded-up business on the Upper East Side in Manhattan on Monday

Employees board up the windows of a pizza restaurant in Seattle, Washington

STATEWIDE CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWNS In the most extreme measures to date, 17 states have ordered 100 percent of non-essential workforces to stay home to help curb the spread of COVID-19. CALIFORNIA Locked down: 39.5 million Deaths: 67 CONNECTICUT Locked down: 3.5 million Deaths: 19 DELAWARE Locked down: 967,000 Deaths: 0 HAWAII Locked down: 1.42 million Deaths: 0 ILLINOIS Locked down: 12.74 million Deaths: 19 INDIANA Locked down: 6.7 million Deaths: 14 LOUISIANA Locked down: 4.66 million Deaths: 65 MASSACHUSETTS Locked down: 6.9 million locked down Deaths: 15 MICHIGAN Locked down: 10 million Deaths: 43 NEVADA Locked down: 3.03 million Deaths: 6 NEW JERSEY Locked down: 8.9 million Deaths: 62 NEW YORK Locked down: 19.54 million Deaths: 366 OHIO Locked down: 11.6 million Deaths: 11 OREGON Locked down: 4.19 million Deaths: 10 PENNSYLVANIA Locked down: 12.81 million Deaths: 15 WASHINGTON Locked down: 7.5 million Deaths: 133 WEST VIRGINIA Locked down: 1.8 million Deaths: 0 Advertisement

Experts warning against lifting the lockdowns have pointed to statistics which show how drastic containment methods have prompted a decrease in cases and deaths in other countries, including Italy and China.

Chinese officials locked down the majority of the country in late January following an explosion of cases in the Hubei province, where the global outbreak originated in Wuhan.

As a result, areas outside of the Hubei province have considerably lower death rates, and far lower numbers of cases.

China's reported number of daily new cases peaked at 3,892 new cases on February 5, after which the rate of spread appeared to decline.

After the worst of the outbreak in China was over, Beijing changed the way it classified coronavirus cases and announced an additional 19,000 diagnoses from the preceding month, meaning the real number of new cases per day in China may have been much higher than its peak of 3,892.

However, the sharp increase in new cases in the US is even more worrying relative to population. With a population of 1.4 billion, China has roughly four times the 330 million population of America.

To some extent, reported numbers of new cases may also reflect local decisions on whom and when to test, and numbers in the US are rising sharply partly because testing is being more widespread.

But the trend is extremely concerning, and indicates that the outbreak may now be worse in the US than it ever was in China, which took draconian measures to lock down the population and bring the virus to heel.

On Tuesday, Chinese officials announced plans to life the lockdown on Wuhan by April 8. They said they will begin lifting lockdowns in other regions in the coming days.

Coronavirus deaths in Italy show first signs of slowing - but the nation's 6,000 deaths and 60,000 infections spark fear for what's to come for the US

Italy was placed on lockdown on March 9, by which time it had more than 5,800 patients.

Two weeks later, the country is finally showing signs of a potential decrease but has so far suffered the world's deadliest outbreak of the pandemic after overtaking China last week.

Italy's daily COVID-19 death toll shot back up on Tuesday following two consecutive days with lower numbers.

On Monday 602 people died. That followed 650 deaths on Sunday and 793 on Saturday — the highest daily figure since the contagion came to light on February 21. On Tuesday, the toll rocketed back up to 743.

The number of fatalities in Italy now stands at 6,820, while confirmed cases surpassed 69,000.

Health authorities have cautioned that it's too soon to say if Italy is about to see a peak in the outbreak - but the two straight days of smaller increases raised hopes that the pandemic may be passing.

'Today is perhaps the first positive day we have had in this hard, very tough month,' Giulio Gallera, Italy's top health official in the hardest-hit northern region of Lombardy, said Monday.

'It is not the time to sing victory, but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.'

Despite this, there was also a significant fall in the number of tests carried out in Italy.

The head of Italy's national health institute, Silvio Brusaferro, said it was too soon to say if the recent decline in daily deaths and new cases would continue.

The harshest restrictions in the country are theoretically due to expire on Wednesday evening - although the government is all but certain to extend them in some form for weeks or even months.

The US, which is third in terms of fatal cases globally, is almost two weeks behind both Italy and China in terms of the outbreak.

Italy and the US are 12 days apart in terms of reporting its first coronavirus deaths - with Italy's first death confirmed on February 20 and the US on March 3.

The latest figures from Italy suggest a possible four week peak projection - and not six weeks - for hot spots within the United States.

There is no national lockdown in place currently in the US but 17 states have issued stay at home orders that are affecting about 160 million Americans.

It is likely the US will soon overtake hard-hit Italy in the number of infections, and health officials say how soon that happens depends on how seriously Americans take the restrictions being imposed on them.

This graph shows how the number of coronavirus deaths in Italy, the current global epicenter, compares with the US

Johns Hopkins pandemic expert leads outcry at Trump's suggestion that the US could 'open for business' within days

Tom Inglesby, a director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security who specializes in pandemics and infectious diseases, issued a stark warning to Donald Trump on Monday after the president said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy.

In a Twitter thread aimed at 'anyone advising the end of social distancing' , Inglesby wrote: 'COVID would spread widely, rapidly, terribly, could kill potentially millions in the yr ahead with huge social and economic impact across the country.

'How do we gain time to let hosps get more supplies & prepare for high number of pts? How do we lower the speed of spread of COVID in US? How do we lower odds that ICUs will run out of vents, hospitals run out of space? The answer for now is large scale social distancing.'

He warned: 'To drop all these measures now would be to accept that COVID pts will get sick in extraordinary numbers all over the country, far beyond what the US health care system could bear.

'Many models report that health care systems will be completely overwhelmed/collapse by the peak of cases if major social distancing is not put in place.'

'For now we need to keep production running, doctors offices working, groceries, pharmacies, banks open. It is ok to have science informed dialogue about which businesses need to be closed vs what can stay open in some way if social distancing can be put in place in them', Inglesby wrote.

'But we need to press ahead for now closed schools, mass telecommuting, no gatherings, strong advisory to stay home unless you need to go out – all are needed to slow this epidemic.'

Tom Inglesby, a director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security specializing in pandemics and infectious diseases, issued a stark warning to Trump on Monday after the president said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy

Other experts have also rushed to condemn lifting lockdowns early.

Dr Scott Gottlieb, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and former commissioner of the FDA said that public health had to be prioritized over the economy.

Gottlieb tweeted: 'There's no functioning healthcare with hospitals overwhelmed, no return to work with people terrified of a virus raging uncontrolled. There are two ways to end this. Let a vast swath of people catch covid which is unthinkable, or break the epidemic. We must choose the latter.

'This pathogen brought China to a standstill, with perhaps greater lethality than Spanish Flu. Many middle-aged people are suffering long stays in ICU and survive only after weeks of critical care. Make no mistake about it, this pathogen spares nobody, except thankfully the young.'

Ron Klain, who served as President Barack Obama's 'Ebola czar', told Politico: 'It is way too early to even consider rolling back any guidelines. With cases and deaths rising by the day, the country must double down, not lighten up, on social distancing and related measures.'

President Trump, meanwhile, has complained that health care professionals are being too cautious as he takes up the argument that the cure cannot be worse than the disease, referring to the damage inflicted on the US economy.

Investors warn that rapidly reopening the US economy as coronavirus continues to spread could backfire in the stock market

Investors have also warned that Trump's desire to rapidly reopen the economy despite signs the coronavirus is still spreading may backfire, with higher deaths and citizens remaining fearful of going out.

US stocks joined a worldwide rally on Tuesday as optimism rose, for one day at least, that government officials and central banks are unleashing enough aid to ease the economic pain caused by the coronavirus outbreak.

The Dow jumped more than 1,500 points and the S&P 500 surged more than seven percent in midday trading as a wave of buying interrupted what has been a brutal month of nearly nonstop selling.

Stocks had bounced back from three-year lows with the optimism was born in part out of signs that Congress and the White House are nearing an agreement on close to $2trillion in aid for the economy.

Top congressional and White House officials said they expect to reach an agreement Tuesday on the relief package, though some issues remain - including uncertainty about Trump's lockdown plans.

US stocks bounced back from three-year lows on Tuesday as they jumped more than 1,000 points as signs of Washington nearing a deal on a $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package gave a shot of optimism to markets

News of Trump reopening the US economy anytime soon would not be taken well by investors, who remain anxious about the coronavirus' uncertain trajectory and its economic toll, said Axel Merk, chief investment officer of Merk Investments.

'Markets will react badly because they have learned that this approach doesn't work,' Merk said. 'From a medical point of view, you have to break the exponential growth and you do that with shelter in place policies.'

The S&P 500 Index sank three percent on Monday - marking a 230 percent loss from its February 19 peak and the lowest level seen since the end of 2016, giving up nearly all of its gains from before Trump was elected.

Initial estimates of the pandemic's economic fallout have grown bleaker in recent days.

US unemployment could hit 30 percent and second-quarter economic output could be half the norm, St Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said.

Jennifer Pline, head of wealth management for Cambridge Trust in Boston, said it is too soon to judge whether to reopen the economy just yet.

'As we're just starting to close things down fairly tightly, we need to wait a while until we get more traction and less contagion with the virus.'

The cost of a mistake could be deadly. A March 16 study by Imperial College in London predicts 2.2 million deaths in the United States in an unmitigated epidemic, with critical care bed capacity exceeded as early as the second week in April.

Economists at Northwestern University and Berlin's Freie University estimated an 'optimal containment policy' in the United States would deepen the subsequent recession but save 600,000 lives.

The major US indexes jumped more than 5 percent in the first few minutes of trading on Tuesday

Ellis Phifer, market strategist for Raymond James in Memphis, Tenn. said he has struggled with the question of whether it would be best to reopen parts of the economy.

'It's really hard to determine which costs more,' Phifer said of the dueling approaches of lifting restrictions sooner or later.

On balance, he would be inclined to follow the advice of public health experts like Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who have largely advocated for more restrictions.

In an interview last week, Richmond Federal Reserve president Thomas Barkin said any call to try to resume normal economic activity will depend on widespread testing quick enough that businesses can establish protocols to ensure worker and customer safety.

David Kotok, chairman and chief investment officer of Cumberland Advisors, said what is imperative is to get accurate antibody tests, and to read the recovery rate as well as confirmed cases and deaths.

'I don't think the market will get the economic growth if people are dying all over the place,' said Kotok.

Others thought that the more important thing would be to get the economy back open.

'You leave this USA shut for another 60 days and you may have no economy or healthcare left,' said John Lekas at Leader Capital.

Rob Arnott, founder of asset manager Research Affiliates said the toll of job losses and other economic hardship that may stem from shutdowns and other measures could potentially be more harmful than the virus itself.

'Our way of handling this will kill a lot more people than it saves,' said Arnott.

But now the measures are taken and the population is fearful, there may be no going back.

Gregory Daco, Chief US, Economist at Oxford Economics, said even if the lockdowns were lifted, 'businesses and households would remain very cautious, and financial intermediation would remain under stress... And, with the rest of the world under lockdown, you would presumably further alienate yourself.'