US records 1,997 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins

The number of coronavirus deaths in the United States rose by almost 2,000 in the past 24 hours to reach 40,661 on Sunday, a tally from Johns Hopkins University showed.

The rise in deaths, by 1,997, is marginally above the 1,891 which Johns Hopkins data showed a day earlier for the previous 24-hour period to Saturday.

Sunday's figure came on the same day that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the epidemic in his hardest-hit state is "past the high point."

The 24-hour tally in the United States had exceeded 2,500 on Wednesday, Johns Hopkins data showed.

Deaths from COVID-19 in the United States are by far the highest of any country, as is the total number of cases which on Sunday reached 759,086, according to Johns Hopkins.

© 2020 AFP