Coronavirus Update: More Than 1,000 Deaths in One Day

Yesterday, more than 1,000 Americans died of coronavirus, the highest daily death toll yet recorded. The number of confirmed cases is above 215,000 in the U.S., with serious outbreaks across a number of states. While New York and New Jersey remain the domestic epicenters of the outbreak, Michigan, Louisiana, and Massachusetts are all seeing their per capita case numbers skyrocket. Florida governor Ron Desantis issued a statewide stay-at-home order yesterday.

New York, Louisiana, and Massachusetts have steadily increased the number of per capita tests administered daily. But Michigan, Illinois, and Florida, which each have nearly 10,000 confirmed cases, are lagging. California reported a decreased cumulative number of tests, due to an “inadvertent reporting error.” Labs in California are also taking a much longer time to deliver results than those in other states.

Death tolls in Michigan, New York, and New Jersey are continuing to rise. Nationally, more than 5,000 people have died.

Nationwide, testing has stalled, following a rapid increase from March 21 to March 26. Roughly 100,000 tests are now being administered on a daily basis, but at least 10 times that number will be necessary to roll back social-distancing measures.