The nation’s highest mortality counts have been reported in states with the highest incidence of coronavirus cases. As of Monday morning, those states are New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Louisiana and Connecticut. Georgia and Maryland, with 916 and 910 deaths, respectively, trailed closely behind. Indiana followed with 813 deaths, while Washington and Ohio have each confirmed more than 700.
Fatalities reported in the top 10 states account for 80 percent of the country’s total coronavirus-related deaths. Of them, New York has recorded the greatest volume, with at least 22,269 deaths—roughly 40 percent of the nation’s total. By Monday, close to 6,000 people had died in New Jersey, more than 3,300 in Michigan and about 2,900 in Massachusetts.
Of the remaining six states with the leading death tolls, only Florida’s total hovered around 1,000, while most others reported numbers almost twice as high. In California, more than 700 new deaths have been confirmed since the state’s total reached 1,000 a little over a week ago. The death toll in Los Angeles County alone is approaching that number.
Although many U.S. states continue to report new cases, hospitalizations and deaths on a daily basis, in others the outbreak’s impact has been less severe. For instance, Alaska, Mississippi, Montana and South Carolina have confirmed death tolls in the low hundreds, and governments there have moved to reopen parts of their economies as a result. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has endeavored to do the same, though the state saw its highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases between Sunday and Monday, which now total at least 9,667.
Following Governor Brian Kemp’s announcement last week, dozens of businesses across Georgia were permitted to resume operations on Friday, with another wave establishments slated to reopen Monday. Kemp’s decision was criticized by local officials as well as lawmakers from surrounding states. During the White House’s Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he thought the move came “too soon.”
At the coronavirus pandemic’s global epicenter, the U.S. has confirmed one-third of the world’s 2.9 million positive cases and one-fourth of its total deaths.
