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Coronavirus Death Toll in America Now Exceeds 200,000

John Hopkins University (JHU) has reported that the current death toll from the coronavirus in the US has passed the 200,000 mark.

The country has the highest death and infection rates of COVID-19 in the world, with approximately 6.8 million infections recorded stateside so far.

The landmark number of deaths comes as many states, notably North Dakota and Utah, have reported significant rises in cases in recent days. The official number of deaths on Tuesday stands at 200,005 in the US.

The US President Donald Trump said back in March that a figure of between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths would mean a “very good job” had been done by the country.

Prior to that in February, when 15 cases had been reported across America, he reassured the public that the number of cases would fall to “close to zero” within a few days.

JHU has been recording global and US data of the pandemic since the outbreak first came to attention in China towards the end of last year. The US had its first confirmed case on January 21 of this year.

The Trump administration has been much maligned over its failings to control the outbreak.

The Democratic presidential pick Joe Biden said on Monday: “Donald Trump’s lies and incompetence in the last six months has led to one of the greatest losses of American life in history.”

He went on to say: “This crisis required serious presidential leadership, and he just wasn’t up to it. He failed to act. He panicked. He froze. And the United States of America has paid the worst price of any country in the world.”

On the same day, President Trump claimed that he and his administration had performed a “phenomenal job” and he would grade his performance as “A+” in dealing with the outbreak.

The US was now “rounding a corner on COVID-19, with or without a vaccine,” he added.

President Trump recently said Americans would have access to a vaccine as early as October, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said mid-2021 was the earliest that it could happen.