The US coronavirus death toll - the highest in the world - has surged past 30,000 after doubling in a week. New York, the hardest-hit state, has ordered residents to wear masks in certain settings to combat the pandemic. US deaths on Wednesday (local time) stood at 30,400, according to a Reuters tally, with 630,000 confirmed coronavirus cases. After the first US death, reported on February 29, it took 38 days to reach 10,000 deaths and nine days to jump from 10,000 fatalities to 30,000. Italy, with more than 21,000, has the second-most reported deaths caused by the pathogen that first emerged last year in China, followed by Spain with more than 18,500.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 15, 2020 22:18 UTC