US death toll nears 40,000

Washington: The coronavirus death toll in the United States climbed by 1,903 in 24 hours to reach 39,115 on Saturday, latest statistics show. Confirmed cases of the highly infectious illness also soared to a total of 741,866 as of early Sunday morning, up 28,486 from the day before.

The US has the highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths of any country in the world. Despite the ominous statistics, President Trump cited 'positive signs' in the fight against the pandemic on Saturday, believing the worst is now over.

"We continue to see a lot of positive signs that the virus has passed its peak," the President said, just days after the White House issued guidelines for the gradual reopening of the country. Trump said that Texas and Vermont will allow some business to re-open next week, with strict social distancing measures still being enforced.

Residents in Florida and other states returned to the beach Saturday despite an increase in COVID-19 deaths and infections. Meanwhile, three Northeastern states reopened boatyards and marinas for personal use only. Other states are expected to gradually ease lockdown restrictions while other states, such as New York, have issued no indication that measures will be relaxed any time soon.

The state's Governor Andrew Cuomo did share some 'good news' for New Yorkers on Saturday though, revealing in his daily press briefing that daily deaths, hospitalizations, intubations and ICU admissions fell for a third consecutive day. As the nation's crisis epicenter seems to have reached its peak, Cuomo announced that 504 people died from coronavirus Friday, the lowest death toll since April 1 and far lower than the state's peak of 806 on April 7.

The governor went on to make a series of thinly-veiled digs at Trump, in which he recited Lincoln's famous quote - 'a house divided itself cannot stand' - and reminded him 'that's why we're called the "United" States.' His comments come after he blasted the president Friday, mocking his demand for gratitude for federal help and saying: 'Thank you for doing your job'.

In Saturday's update, Cuomo warned that although the falling death toll is promising, New York still has some dark days ahead as '540 families' still lost their loved ones in a single day, including 36 across the state's nursing homes.