The Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University has recorded more than 100,000 deaths in the United States attributed to COVID-19 - 28% of all COVID-19 deaths worldwide.
According to the New York Times, the US has averaged 1,100 COVID-19 deaths per day over the last three months, although the reality is that mortality sharply peaked at 3,000 deaths per day in mid-April and again in early May before declining to roughly 500 per day as of May 27. The epicenter of the US outbreak was New York, which experienced some 204,000 cases and 21,000 deaths by itself. A total of 1.6 million cases have been detected in the US so far.
Workers wearing personal protective equipment bury bodies in a trench on Hart Island, Thursday, April 9, 2020, in the Bronx borough of New York. On Thursday, New York City’s medical examiner confirmed that the city has shortened the amount of time it will hold on to remains to 14 days from 30 days before they will be transferred for temporary internment at a City Cemetery. Earlier in the week, Mayor Bill DeBlasio said that officials have explored the possibility of temporary burials on Hart Island, a strip of land in Long Island Sound that has long served as the city’s potter’s field.
© AP Photo / John Minchillo
However, as the Times and other outlets have reported, the true number of COVID-19 deaths is believed to be substantially higher than the official tally, as many people have died outside of hospitals or had their deaths attributed to other conditions or illnesses, even as their bodies struggled against the novel coronavirus.
The news comes as US states and territories move to begin reopening their societies after months of lockdowns aimed at preventing the spread of the disease. Earlier on Wednesday, the District of Columbia, one of the last holdouts, announced it would begin Phase 1 of reopening on Friday.
While there is not yet even a reliable antiviral treatment for COVID-19, news spread earlier this week that human trials on a potential vaccine had begun in Australia.
