Coronavirus: First infant death reported from Illinois, US as national death toll crosses 2,000
On Saturday, the United States' death toll from the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic crossed 2,000 as the state of Illinois reported the death of the first infant from the disease, from the country. Across the country, more than 102,120 coronavirus cases have been confirmed so far. New York remains the hardest-hit state with 52,315 and 728 deaths.
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) announced the news of the infant's death on Saturday. "A full investigation is underway to determine the cause of death. We must do everything we can to prevent the spread of this deadly virus. If not to protect ourselves, but to protect those around us," said Dr Ngozi Ezike, director of the IDPH.
The number of COVID-19 infections in Illinois jumped by 465 new cases with 13 additional deaths on Saturday. There are now 3,491 coronavirus cases in the state, including 47 deaths. The federal government said they are looking at Chicago as one of the new hot spots for infections.
According to the World Health Organization's (WHO), the official tally at the time of writing was 575,000 confirmed cases worldwide, with the death toll standing at 26,654. However, other sources, including Johns Hopkins University, report that there are over 663,000 confirmed cases worldwide and a death toll of over 30,000.
The death toll was 2,010 Saturday shortly after 6 p.m. ET. That number is expected to rise steadily in the coming days and weeks, and health officials say the number of cases is likely higher due to lack of testing. Nearly 18,000 new cases were reported on both Wednesday and Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins. More than 120,000 cases have been reported in the U.S.
The deaths have more than doubled since Thursday when American health officials reported 1,000 additional deaths. Prior to that, roughly one month lapsed between the first reported coronavirus death in the US and the 1,000th.
The most number of deaths have been reported from New York state where 672 people are reported to have died as a result of the virus. New York is followed by Washington, New Jersey, and Louisiana.
Earlier on Saturday, President Donald Trump considered imposing a quarantine on the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. However, after criticism from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, the president backtracked on his statement, saying that the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would instead issue a travel advisory, tweeting, "A quarantine will not be necessary." Cuomo had also noted that such a move would "paralyze the economy." He said, "I think it would shock the economic markets in a way that we have never seen before."
Meanwhile, the coronavirus death toll shot past 20,000 in Europe on Saturday, with Italy and Spain each reporting more than 800 dead in one day. Italy registered 889 new deaths on Saturday, pushing its death toll past the 10,000 mark.
Spain, which has the world’s second-highest death toll, added 832 deaths, totaling to 5,812 deaths from the virus.