The global death toll from the virus surged past 103,000, with the United States quickly becoming the epicentre of the pandemic that first emerged in China late last year. Using his own ‘metrics,’ Trump says ending US shutdown is biggest decision yetWith 18,849 dead, Italy has the highest global death toll but is likely to soon be surpassed by the United States. On Friday, the US reported 2,108 new deaths, the highest daily toll out of any country since the outbreak was first reported in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December. Turkey said Friday that a 48-hour lockdown order would be rolled out in dozens of cities, including Ankara and Istanbul, as its virus death toll topped 1,000. China, where the virus first emerged, has begun to loosen its lockdown on citizens after its official daily COVID-19 figures dropped.

Source: The Express Tribune April 11, 2020 15:11 UTC