Coronavirus cases skyrocket in US, officials estimate thousands of fatalities
Health officials estimate there could be millions of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. with 100,000 to 200,000 fatalities as governors discourage residents in hot zones from entering their states.
A pandemic of the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 36,000 people across the globe.
The new respiratory virus, which causes an illness known officially as COVID-19, has rapidly spread to every continent except Antarctica since first emerging in China in December. There are now more than 755,000 diagnosed cases of COVID-19, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. At least 158,000 of those patients have recovered from the disease.
With more than 148,000 diagnosed COVID-19 cases, the United States has by far the highest national tally in the world. At least 2,599 people have died in the U.S.
Maryland governor worried pandemic will soon escalate in DC area
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is warning that medical experts say the coronavirus pandemic could escalate within two weeks in the Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland region, where it could resemble the current level of cases in New York City.
Hogan issued a "stay-at-home" executive order on Monday that directs state residents to stay at home unless they have an essential job, need to leave buy food or medicine, or get medical attention.
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The governor warned that violators would be charged with a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison and/or a fine up to $5,000.
He also said that residents should not travel out of state unless absolutely necessary.
Maryland has now surpassed 1,400 cases of COVID-19.
Over 1,000 dead in New York state
At least 1,218 have died from coronavirus in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
"We've lost over 1,000 New Yorkers. To me we're beyond staggering already," Cuomo said. "The only point now is do everything you can to save every life possible."
Italy now has over 100,000 reported cases
Italy -- by far the hardest-hit when it comes to fatalities -- has now reached 101,739 total coronavirus cases, according to the country's Civil Protection Agency.
As of Monday, 11,591 people in Italy have died, officials said
But Italy -- which went on a country-wide lockdown on March 9 -- is seeing some positive news as the total number of active infected patients rose by only 2.2% over the last 24 hours. There were 1,648 new cases in the last day, as opposed to 3,815 from the day before.
Also, the number of patients reported as having recovered from the illness as of Monday is the highest daily total reported so far with 1,590 no longer infected.
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