U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Passes 50,000

The official number of people in the United States killed by COVID-19 has reached 50,000, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. death and confirmed cases totals are far higher than any other country's.

More than 190,000 people have died from the coronavirus globally, and case totals have reached over 2.7 million, as of Friday afternoon.

Within the U.S., the pandemic has hit hardest in the state of New York. The New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx have all seen more than 2,000 residents die from COVID-19 complications. New York state officials said Thursday that preliminary results suggest a fifth of all New York City residents have been infected with the coronavirus.

In total, the U.S. has more than three times as many confirmed cases of the virus than any other country. European countries such as Spain, Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom have also been hit hard by the pandemic. Nearly all of those countries have experienced a higher number of deaths per capita than the U.S., according to the data from Johns Hopkins.

Other hot spots in the U.S. include New Jersey, Massachusetts and the area surrounding Detroit. Data suggests that the virus is disproportionately hitting black and Latinx communities.

State responses to the coronavirus have varied. Most states have issued stay-at-home orders, though some plan to reopen nonessential businesses soon, citing concerns over a flagging economy. In a controversial move, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp reopened many businesses Friday.

Many public health experts have criticized the U.S. response to the virus's spread as too slow and note that the nation's testing capacity still needs to be increased. [Copyright 2020 NPR]