The number of coronavirus infections in the United States increased more than 82,000 yesterday, surpassing rises in both China and Italy, as New York and New Orleans and others faced a significant increase in hospitals and a shortage of supplies, staff and sick beds.
With the shortage of ventilation and protective masks in medical facilities and the limited ability to perform diagnostic testing, the number of deaths in the United States due to COVID-19 has risen to more than 1,200 people.
And while New York was the epicenter of the virus in the United States this week, the next big wave of infections has emerged heading for Louisiana, where the demand for respirators has already doubled in New Orleans, the state's largest city, and celebrations are believed to have taken place late last month that fueled an outbreak the disease.
In a milestone in the United States as a whole, at least 82,153 people were infected nationwide as of Thursday, while China, where the global epidemic occurred late last year, recorded the second largest number of cases 81,285, followed by Italy with 80,539.
