Confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States have exceeded total rates in China and Italy, making the country the center of a global epidemic.
In the US, the number of confirmed cases stood at 82,404 on Thursday evening, surpassing 81,782 in China and 80,589 in Italy. According to researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the total number of confirmed cases in the world is 526,044.
Since the U.S. reported its first coronavirus case on January 20, more than 1,100 people in the country have died from the disease. The death toll in Italy and China is higher.
The multitude of new cases are in major cities such as New York and New Orleans, where densely populated neighborhoods are helping to spread the virus. Mayors and governors have said that patients with the virus have already overwhelmed hospitals, which will contribute to a rise in deaths.
To stop the spread of the virus, people in many cities and states in the United States are under some form of isolation. It is assumed that people leave their homes only to go shopping and do important things.
According to Worldometer, in mid-February, the peak incidence of coronavirus was in China. The country has fought the virus with tough quarantine measures, limiting the movement of 60 million people in Hubei province, where the outbreak occurred.
The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of jobless claims in the United States for the week ending March 21 was 3.28 million, beating analysts' forecast of 1.5 million.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that social distancing measures in the state are starting to slow the spread of the virus.
New York City is the center of the outbreak in the United States, and has reported nearly half of the country's cases.
This article was published by Business Insider.
Sources: Photo: (Johns Hopkins)
