US deadliest day of pandemic as 3,176 deaths in 24 hours

The novel coronavirus has killed nearly 50,000 people in the United States, after one of the deadliest days of the pandemic which saw 3,176 deaths, according to a tally on Thursday from Johns Hopkins University.

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The deaths were recorded in the 24 hours up to 8:30pm (0030 GMT Friday), bringing the overall coronavirus death toll in the United States to 49,759, according to the Baltimore-based university.

The US, the worst-hit country in the world, now has 866,646 confirmed cases of coronavirus, up 26,971 from the previous day.

A man wearing a face mask takes a walk in New York. AFP

Due to a lack of testing, the actual number of infections is likely to be much higher.

Last week, the country recorded two consecutive days of high death tolls — 4,591 on Thursday and 3,856 on Friday. But those numbers were believed to include "probable" coronavirus deaths that had not been previously included in the count.

Outside of those two days, Thursday's toll of 3,176 marked the deadliest day yet in any country amid the global pandemic which has claimed nearly 190,000 lives.

Despite the alarming figures, several US states such as Georgia and Texas were preparing to reopen some businesses as they started lifting lockdown measures.

Agence France-Presse