Coronavirus has now killed more people in the US than the 9/11 terror attacks
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The coronavirus has now killed more Americans than the 9/11 terror attacks — and the death toll is poised to rise in the weeks ahead.
Nearly 3,000 people died after terrorists flew planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and a third plane that had been hijacked crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, on 9/11. According to tallies by both CNN and the New York Times, over 3,000 people in the US infected with Covid-19 have died.
More than 900 people have died from COVID-19 in Manhattan alone, and the city was opening temporary hospitals in a convention center, a Navy ship and Central Park. Refrigeration trucks were serving as temporary morgues.
Still, the nation’s top health expert found some reason for hope, saying social distancing was working and that the rate of increase of New York City cases might be starting to slow.
Donald Trump has warned Americans to expect a “painful two weeks” as coronavirus deaths in the US peak – before suggesting people wear scarves as face masks in the fight against the virus.
In a briefing at the White House, the US president branded COVID-19 “a plague” and urged people to follow social distancing guidelines which have been extended until the end of April.
The White House projects 100,000 to 240,000 deaths in the US from the coronavirus pandemic if social distancing guidelines are maintained.
The number of people who have died in the US after testing positive for coronavirus has risen to more than 3,800, surpassing the 3,305 reported fatalities in China, where the outbreak began.
The US death toll is now higher than the number of people who died in the September 11 terror attacks in 2001.
New York is the centre of America’s coroanvirus outbreak, with about 1,550 deaths across the state, mostly in New York City.
