More than a thousand people (1,040) across the United States died from the COVID-19 coronavirus over the 24-hour period from Wednesday to Thursday, bringing its total death toll to 5,810 by late Thursday.
The sharp rise was not entirely unexpected, however, as it heralds the start of what President Donald Trump and administration officials warned would be a “very painful” two week period in which the numbers would skyrocket.
This past Tuesday Trump and White House officials gave due notice to the American people that even with social distancing, between 100,000 and 240,000 people in the country could die from the virus.
In New York City, the death toll rose Thursday to 1,562, up 188 from 1,374 a day earlier. The city’s deaths comprise nearly a third of the entire death toll of America. There are nearly 52,000 people in the city who are ill with the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Across New York State as a whole, a total of 2,373 residents have died from the virus – 42 percent of the national death toll. There are 92,381 confirmed cases of the virus across the state of New York, with 13,383 of those currently hospitalized and 3,396 of those being treated in intensive care units.
New York City officials are now asking residents to cover their faces with scarves or other homemade face masks when they are out in public. However, they are also asking residents to also continue to observe the social distancing protocols.