US President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/topics/joe-biden">Joe Biden </a>on Wednesday criticised Republican-ruled states Texas and Mississippi for dropping measures to wear masks, calling it "Neanderthal thinking".

"The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking, that in the meantime everything's fine -- take off your mask, forget it. It still matters," the US president said.&nbsp;

Biden's remarks came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifted mask mandate in the state on Tuesday, saying it's time to open "100 per cent".

Watch |&nbsp;

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He said the opening of businesses up to 75 per cent have hurt small players and the state now has the "tools" to protect the Texans from the deadly virus.&nbsp;

Mississippi, which announced lifting compulsory mask-wearing on Wednesday hit back at Biden's comments, with Governor Tate Reeves saying "Mississippians don't need handlers". &nbsp;

"As numbers drop, they can assess their choices and listen to experts. I guess I just think we should trust Americans, not insult them," the Republican governor wrote in a tweet.&nbsp;

Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) have also warned of dropping guard to prevent the spread of Covid-19, saying it could lead to a potential fourth wave of the virus in the country.&nbsp;

Also read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/adult-population-of-us-to-be-vaccinated-by-may-joe-biden-367551">Adult population of US to be vaccinated by May: Joe Biden</a>

"Now is not the time to release all restrictions," Rochelle Walensky, USCDC said.

"Continue wearing your well-fitted mask and taking the other public health prevention actions that we know work."&nbsp;

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticised Republican-ruled states Texas and Mississippi for dropping measures to wear masks, calling it "Neanderthal thinking".

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday criticised Republican-ruled states Texas and Mississippi for dropping measures to wear masks, calling it "Neanderthal thinking". "The last thing we need is Neanderthal thinking, that in the meantime everything's fine -- take off your mask, forget it. It still matters," the US president said. Biden's remarks came after Texas Governor Greg Abbott lifted mask mandate in the state on Tuesday, saying it's time to open "100 per cent". Watch | He said the opening of businesses up to 75 per cent have hurt small players and the state now has the "tools" to protect the Texans from the deadly virus. Mississippi, which announced lifting compulsory mask-wearing on Wednesday hit back at Biden's comments, with Governor Tate Reeves saying "Mississippians don't need handlers". "As numbers drop, they can assess their choices and listen to experts. I guess I just think we should trust Americans, not insult them," the Republican governor wrote in a tweet. Meanwhile, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) have also warned of dropping guard to prevent the spread of Covid-19, saying it could lead to a potential fourth wave of the virus in the country. Also read | Adult population of US to be vaccinated by May: Joe Biden "Now is not the time to release all restrictions," Rochelle Walensky, USCDC said. "Continue wearing your well-fitted mask and taking the other public health prevention actions that we know work."

'Neanderthal thinking': Joe Biden slams Texas, Mississippi for dropping mask-wearing requirements

In one pandemic reality, restaurants are packed. There are no coronavirus limits at college town bars. No social distancing dots speckling the floor. Some people are wearing masks, but even a weak proposal to make it a requirement in one city prompted an outcry. Welcome to South Dakota.

In another, hundreds of miles to the south, much of life is shut down. No dining inside restaurants. Capacity limits at Walmart. Shuttered bookstores, museums, hair salons, parks. A mask-wearing culture so widespread that someone put one on an old statue. Welcome to New Mexico.

This is the view from America’s two discordant, dissonant pandemic realities.

The pandemic and the nation’s disjointed response have taken the notion of two Americas to a new extreme. As known coronavirus cases in the United States have surpassed 12 million over the course of the pandemic, the daily routines of millions of Americans are now shaped by their ZIP codes, governors and beliefs about the virus: Do they wear masks? Go to school in person or online? Eat out? Get exposed to the virus?

Hospitalization rates in South Dakota have been the highest in the nation, but a conservative frontier philosophy dominates the state’s approach. Some towns, stores and school districts require masks or social distancing, but as a whole, South Dakota has the fewest restrictions of any state, with neither a mask mandate nor significant limits on businesses. Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, has called that distinction a badge of freedom and criticized restrictions as ineffective and economically destructive.

“You wouldn’t even know there’s a pandemic going on,” said Heidi Haugan, a mother of four young children in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s biggest city.

As the virus surged in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, on Monday put the state’s 2 million residents under some of the toughest restrictions in the country, issuing a two-week stay-at-home order, banning restaurant dining, setting capacity limits on grocery stores and closing indoor malls, movie theaters and gyms.

The limits clash with the wide-open feel of a place where the skyscrapers are mountain ranges, and have exacerbated months of anxiety and economic pain.

“It’s something that my mailman said several months ago,” said state Rep. Angelica Rubio, a Democrat who represents Las Cruces. “He said we should have never started calling it social distancing. What we should have called it was physical distancing. The basic concept of the language that we’ve used to try to deter people from being physically together — how could we still have some kind of community regardless of that?”

South Dakota and New Mexico are living two different economies: one wide open, the other bolted shut. With pain on both sides.

It felt like going back in time. A Saturday night in Vermillion, home to the University of South Dakota, and bars and restaurants were brimming with parents celebrating after the state high school football championships.

Chad Grunewaldt hung a “Masks Expected” sign at the front door of his two-story bar, the Old Lumber Company. Like many businesses, he left the decision up to staff and patrons. Some servers and bartenders have gotten sick, and Grunewaldt said he sends them home and welcomes them back when they recover. But he was wary of the growing calls for mask orders and restrictions on business.

“It’s not a dictatorship,” he said.

In New Mexico, the virus has pummeled the economy, which has long been one of the country’s poorest. Unemployment in the state has risen to 8% during the pandemic — roughly the same as Arizona, its Republican-led neighbor — and small-business owners voice widespread fears about closing down.

South Dakota’s economy, which Noem has declared “open for business” during the pandemic, has fared better, with unemployment at 3.6%, well below the 6.9% national average. But critics wonder about the public health costs of staying open.

Right now, South Dakota has the country’s second-highest rate of new cases. More than 7% of the state’s residents have tested positive. New Mexico has fewer cases per capita but a more alarming trend line. Although reports of new infections have started to level off in South Dakota, daily case numbers have more than doubled over the past two weeks in New Mexico.

In New Mexico, Tom Hutchinson laid off 80 employees at his two restaurants in Mesilla, a small town next to Las Cruces, on the first day of the governor’s ban on dine-in service. Because of the prohibition on large gatherings, many of the workers found out through an online scheduling system and notices posted at the restaurants.

“That’s a hell of a way to tell somebody,” Hutchinson said. “I’d love to be able to pay them, but we have no revenue to pay them with.”

Before the pandemic, he had 170 workers. Now he has about 20.

His 81-year-old restaurant, La Posta de Mesilla, is a kind of museum, if museums smelled of enchiladas. Tucked into an old adobe stagecoach stop, it sits across the street from the building where Billy the Kid was convicted of murder in 1881.

“It’s sad as hell to walk through this place and not see anybody,” Hutchinson said.

South Dakota’s absence of restrictions lets people live unmasked and near one another. That reality is unthinkable in New Mexico.

In Sioux Falls, Joy Howe has never worn a mask or taken a COVID test. She vows she never will.

She has fashioned a life seemingly unfazed by the pandemic raging around her. Unmasked church services on Sundays. In-person piano lessons for her children on Tuesdays and Bible classes on Wednesdays at their evangelical church. Sioux Falls passed a mask mandate this week, but Howe said she will not follow it.

She is planning a menu of turkey, carrot casserole and strawberry-glazed fruit salad for Thanksgiving, when 20 family members will pile into her house.

It is all deliberately, defiantly normal. “We have never stopped doing anything we’ve always done,” she said. People across the rest of America, she said, “are losing their souls. And with that they will lose this country.”

In New Mexico, Mary Helen Ratje, 67, usually wears a mask when she ventures outdoors. She has been tested four times. She does this not so much for herself, but for her father, who turned 100 in August.

Her father, J. Paul Taylor y Romero, who served for 18 years in the New Mexico Legislature, stays indoors most days at his adobe home, except for trips to the doctor and an occasional drive with his family.

“I think that if the governor and our city hadn’t taken the steps that they had, people would feel like they have more freedom to be around elderly people like my dad,” said Ratje, who teaches at a charter school named for her father.

Interviewed by telephone, Taylor said he was doing pretty well “for a 100-year-old guy.”

“My kids are very protective of me; I should tell you that,” he said. “I think they all think I’m going to die, but I’m not ready to die.”

Can one nation weather two irreconcilable views of the pandemic? Families and friendships are already fraying. 
&nbsp;

In one pandemic reality, restaurants are packed. There are no coronavirus limits at college town bars. No social distancing dots speckling the floor. Some people are wearing masks, but even a weak proposal to make it a requirement in one city prompted an outcry.

In one pandemic reality, restaurants are packed. There are no coronavirus limits at college town bars. No social distancing dots speckling the floor. Some people are wearing masks, but even a weak proposal to make it a requirement in one city prompted an outcry. Welcome to South Dakota. In another, hundreds of miles to the south, much of life is shut down. No dining inside restaurants. Capacity limits at Walmart. Shuttered bookstores, museums, hair salons, parks. A mask-wearing culture so widespread that someone put one on an old statue. Welcome to New Mexico. This is the view from America’s two discordant, dissonant pandemic realities. The pandemic and the nation’s disjointed response have taken the notion of two Americas to a new extreme. As known coronavirus cases in the United States have surpassed 12 million over the course of the pandemic, the daily routines of millions of Americans are now shaped by their ZIP codes, governors and beliefs about the virus: Do they wear masks? Go to school in person or online? Eat out? Get exposed to the virus? Hospitalization rates in South Dakota have been the highest in the nation, but a conservative frontier philosophy dominates the state’s approach. Some towns, stores and school districts require masks or social distancing, but as a whole, South Dakota has the fewest restrictions of any state, with neither a mask mandate nor significant limits on businesses. Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, has called that distinction a badge of freedom and criticized restrictions as ineffective and economically destructive. “You wouldn’t even know there’s a pandemic going on,” said Heidi Haugan, a mother of four young children in Sioux Falls, South Dakota’s biggest city. As the virus surged in New Mexico, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, on Monday put the state’s 2 million residents under some of the toughest restrictions in the country, issuing a two-week stay-at-home order, banning restaurant dining, setting capacity limits on grocery stores and closing indoor malls, movie theaters and gyms. The limits clash with the wide-open feel of a place where the skyscrapers are mountain ranges, and have exacerbated months of anxiety and economic pain. “It’s something that my mailman said several months ago,” said state Rep. Angelica Rubio, a Democrat who represents Las Cruces. “He said we should have never started calling it social distancing. What we should have called it was physical distancing. The basic concept of the language that we’ve used to try to deter people from being physically together — how could we still have some kind of community regardless of that?” South Dakota and New Mexico are living two different economies: one wide open, the other bolted shut. With pain on both sides. It felt like going back in time. A Saturday night in Vermillion, home to the University of South Dakota, and bars and restaurants were brimming with parents celebrating after the state high school football championships. Chad Grunewaldt hung a “Masks Expected” sign at the front door of his two-story bar, the Old Lumber Company. Like many businesses, he left the decision up to staff and patrons. Some servers and bartenders have gotten sick, and Grunewaldt said he sends them home and welcomes them back when they recover. But he was wary of the growing calls for mask orders and restrictions on business. “It’s not a dictatorship,” he said. In New Mexico, the virus has pummeled the economy, which has long been one of the country’s poorest. Unemployment in the state has risen to 8% during the pandemic — roughly the same as Arizona, its Republican-led neighbor — and small-business owners voice widespread fears about closing down. South Dakota’s economy, which Noem has declared “open for business” during the pandemic, has fared better, with unemployment at 3.6%, well below the 6.9% national average. But critics wonder about the public health costs of staying open. Right now, South Dakota has the country’s second-highest rate of new cases. More than 7% of the state’s residents have tested positive. New Mexico has fewer cases per capita but a more alarming trend line. Although reports of new infections have started to level off in South Dakota, daily case numbers have more than doubled over the past two weeks in New Mexico. In New Mexico, Tom Hutchinson laid off 80 employees at his two restaurants in Mesilla, a small town next to Las Cruces, on the first day of the governor’s ban on dine-in service. Because of the prohibition on large gatherings, many of the workers found out through an online scheduling system and notices posted at the restaurants. “That’s a hell of a way to tell somebody,” Hutchinson said. “I’d love to be able to pay them, but we have no revenue to pay them with.” Before the pandemic, he had 170 workers. Now he has about 20. His 81-year-old restaurant, La Posta de Mesilla, is a kind of museum, if museums smelled of enchiladas. Tucked into an old adobe stagecoach stop, it sits across the street from the building where Billy the Kid was convicted of murder in 1881. “It’s sad as hell to walk through this place and not see anybody,” Hutchinson said. South Dakota’s absence of restrictions lets people live unmasked and near one another. That reality is unthinkable in New Mexico. In Sioux Falls, Joy Howe has never worn a mask or taken a COVID test. She vows she never will. She has fashioned a life seemingly unfazed by the pandemic raging around her. Unmasked church services on Sundays. In-person piano lessons for her children on Tuesdays and Bible classes on Wednesdays at their evangelical church. Sioux Falls passed a mask mandate this week, but Howe said she will not follow it. She is planning a menu of turkey, carrot casserole and strawberry-glazed fruit salad for Thanksgiving, when 20 family members will pile into her house. It is all deliberately, defiantly normal. “We have never stopped doing anything we’ve always done,” she said. People across the rest of America, she said, “are losing their souls. And with that they will lose this country.” In New Mexico, Mary Helen Ratje, 67, usually wears a mask when she ventures outdoors. She has been tested four times. She does this not so much for herself, but for her father, who turned 100 in August. Her father, J. Paul Taylor y Romero, who served for 18 years in the New Mexico Legislature, stays indoors most days at his adobe home, except for trips to the doctor and an occasional drive with his family. “I think that if the governor and our city hadn’t taken the steps that they had, people would feel like they have more freedom to be around elderly people like my dad,” said Ratje, who teaches at a charter school named for her father. Interviewed by telephone, Taylor said he was doing pretty well “for a 100-year-old guy.” “My kids are very protective of me; I should tell you that,” he said. “I think they all think I’m going to die, but I’m not ready to die.” Can one nation weather two irreconcilable views of the pandemic? Families and friendships are already fraying.

1 America, 1 Pandemic, 2 Realities

The hardest-hit country from coronavirus, the United States, on an average sees 2,600 new coronavirus cases every hour, according to a tally.

The tally compiled by Reuters also says that this rate in the US is the highest in the world.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trump-blames-anti-racism-protests-mexico-travellers-for-surge-in-covid-cases-315388">Trump blames anti-racism protests, Mexico travellers for surge in COVID cases</a>

In the latest figures provided by Johns Hopkins University, the US has reported more than 63,000 new cases in the last 24 hours on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/coronavirus-us-reports-over-63000-cases-as-country-toll-nears-4-million-315265">Coronavirus: US reports over 63,000 cases as country toll nears 4 million</a>

The US is coming close to report 4 million COVID-19 infections and the nationwide death toll stands at 142,942.&nbsp;

The US, which reported its first case on January 21, reached the mark of 1 million cases in 98 days and just 43 days to add another million. In only 27 days, the country went from 2 million cases to 3 million.&nbsp;

The Trump administration has often clashed with state governors over measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus, incluing lockdown and mask-wearing guidelines.&nbsp;

President Donald Trump also shifted his tone over wearing of masks and in recent times he has even started donning it in public, but also urging people to use one.&nbsp;

The US ranks second in the top 20 worst-hit countries with the most number of cases per capita, recording 120 infections per 10,000 people.&nbsp;

The hardest-hit country from coronavirus, the United States, on an average sees 2,600 new coronavirus cases every hour, according to a tally. The tally compiled by Reuters also says that this rate in the US is the highest in the world.

The hardest-hit country from coronavirus, the United States, on an average sees 2,600 new coronavirus cases every hour, according to a tally. The tally compiled by Reuters also says that this rate in the US is the highest in the world. Also read | Trump blames anti-racism protests, Mexico travellers for surge in COVID cases In the latest figures provided by Johns Hopkins University, the US has reported more than 63,000 new cases in the last 24 hours on Wednesday. Also read | Coronavirus: US reports over 63,000 cases as country toll nears 4 million The US is coming close to report 4 million COVID-19 infections and the nationwide death toll stands at 142,942. The US, which reported its first case on January 21, reached the mark of 1 million cases in 98 days and just 43 days to add another million. In only 27 days, the country went from 2 million cases to 3 million. The Trump administration has often clashed with state governors over measures to contain the spread of the deadly virus, incluing lockdown and mask-wearing guidelines. President Donald Trump also shifted his tone over wearing of masks and in recent times he has even started donning it in public, but also urging people to use one. The US ranks second in the top 20 worst-hit countries with the most number of cases per capita, recording 120 infections per 10,000 people.

Worst-hit US sees 2,600 coronavirus cases every hour

President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help US farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products.

The US Agriculture Department is partnering with regional and local distributors to purchase $3 billion in such farm goods to be distributed to food banks, churches and aid groups as millions of Americans face unemployment with much of the economy shut down.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/coronavirus-infections-surpass-700000-in-us-over-36000-dead-293247">Coronavirus infections surpass 700,000 in US, over 36,000 dead</a>

"American agriculture has been hard-hit, like most of America, with the coronavirus, and President Trump is standing with our farmers and all Americans to make sure that we all get through this national emergency," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said at a White House news conference.

The agency said it will make monthly purchases totaling about $100 million each of fresh produce, dairy products and meat products. Perdue said USDA will work with companies like Sysco Corp to help procure, package and distribute food boxes.

Long lines have formed at US&nbsp;food banks in recent weeks.

Farmers and ranchers have struggled to get their goods to market because of disruption caused by the pandemic, forcing some to throw out food and call for government help.

"Having to dump milk or plow under vegetables ready to market is not only financially distressing but it's heartbreaking as well for those that produce them," Perdue said.

Direct payments will be sent "as quickly as possible" as farm commodity producers have experienced "unprecedented losses," Perdue said, who hoped checks could be sent by the end of May.

The $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers will include $9.6 billion for the livestock industry - with $5.1 billion for cattle, $2.9 billion for dairy and $1.6 billion for hogs, according to a statement released late Friday by US&nbsp;Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee.

In addition, $3.9 billion will be paid to row crop producers, $2.1 billion for specialty crop farmers and $500 million for other crops, according to the statement. The payments are capped at $250,000 per individual farmer or entity.

The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), which represents corn-based ethanol producers that have suffered due to lack of demand for motor fuels as Americans stay home, was quick to criticise the package.

"USDA missed a crucial opportunity to lend a helping hand to an industry that is suffering the worst economic crisis in its history," RFA President Geoff Cooper said in a statement.

Perdue acknowledged that constituents may consider the direct payments "insufficient” and said USDA is trying to cover "small farmers as well as larger farmers.”

Funding for the immediate aid program will be pulled together from a number of sources, including recent coronavirus-related aid laws passed by Congress and other funding authorities that USDA has access to, according to Perdue.

But going forward, he said, "I anticipate we will need additional money."

 
&nbsp;

President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help US farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products.

President Donald Trump on Friday announced a $19 billion relief program to help US farmers cope with the impact of the coronavirus, including $16 billion in direct payments to producers and mass purchases of meat, dairy, vegetables and other products. The US Agriculture Department is partnering with regional and local distributors to purchase $3 billion in such farm goods to be distributed to food banks, churches and aid groups as millions of Americans face unemployment with much of the economy shut down. Also read | Coronavirus infections surpass 700,000 in US, over 36,000 dead "American agriculture has been hard-hit, like most of America, with the coronavirus, and President Trump is standing with our farmers and all Americans to make sure that we all get through this national emergency," Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said at a White House news conference. The agency said it will make monthly purchases totaling about $100 million each of fresh produce, dairy products and meat products. Perdue said USDA will work with companies like Sysco Corp to help procure, package and distribute food boxes. Long lines have formed at US food banks in recent weeks. Farmers and ranchers have struggled to get their goods to market because of disruption caused by the pandemic, forcing some to throw out food and call for government help. "Having to dump milk or plow under vegetables ready to market is not only financially distressing but it's heartbreaking as well for those that produce them," Perdue said. Direct payments will be sent "as quickly as possible" as farm commodity producers have experienced "unprecedented losses," Perdue said, who hoped checks could be sent by the end of May. The $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers will include $9.6 billion for the livestock industry - with $5.1 billion for cattle, $2.9 billion for dairy and $1.6 billion for hogs, according to a statement released late Friday by US Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee. In addition, $3.9 billion will be paid to row crop producers, $2.1 billion for specialty crop farmers and $500 million for other crops, according to the statement. The payments are capped at $250,000 per individual farmer or entity. The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA), which represents corn-based ethanol producers that have suffered due to lack of demand for motor fuels as Americans stay home, was quick to criticise the package. "USDA missed a crucial opportunity to lend a helping hand to an industry that is suffering the worst economic crisis in its history," RFA President Geoff Cooper said in a statement. Perdue acknowledged that constituents may consider the direct payments "insufficient” and said USDA is trying to cover "small farmers as well as larger farmers.” Funding for the immediate aid program will be pulled together from a number of sources, including recent coronavirus-related aid laws passed by Congress and other funding authorities that USDA has access to, according to Perdue. But going forward, he said, "I anticipate we will need additional money."

US announces $19 billion coronavirus aid for farmers, food buys for poor

As New York witnessed nearly 600 deaths on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the shutdown in the state until April 29.&nbsp;

Cuomo said the fatality rate in the state was "effectively flat" in the last two days but ordered the shutdown of schools and non-essential businesses until April 29.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/uk-death-toll-due-to-coronavirus-crosses-over-5000-290970">UK death toll due to coronavirus crosses over 5,000</a>

"Now is not the time to be lax," he told reporters, adding fines for the violations of social distancing guidelines would be increased to $1000 from $500.&nbsp;

Earlier on Monday, the governor said that the state witnessed 599 new deaths from Sunday, taking the death toll to 4,758.&nbsp;

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/american-leadership-wilts-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-290963">American leadership wilts amid coronavirus pandemic</a>

New York recorded its highest daily death toll so far on Saturday with 630 deaths.&nbsp;

Cuomo said the death rates had been dropping off since, suggesting that the state is seeing the peak of coronavirus outbreak.&nbsp;

"It is hopeful but it is also inconclusive," the governor said. &nbsp;

However, he warned of a "mistake" if social distancing measures are relaxed too soon.&nbsp;

"If the curve is turning it's because the rate of infection is going down, if the rate of infection is going down it's because social distancing is working," Cuomo added.&nbsp;

"If we are plateauing then we are plateauing at a very high level and there's tremendous stress on the health care system."&nbsp;

Meanwhile, in the US, there have been 10,335&nbsp;deaths from coronavirus and 347,003&nbsp;positive cases, according to the tally by John Hopkins University.&nbsp;

Almost 131,000 infections are confirmed in New York, Cuomo said.&nbsp;

(With AFP inputs)

As New York witnessed nearly 600 deaths on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the shutdown in the state until April 29. Cuomo said the fatality rate in the state was "effectively flat" in the last two days but ordered the shutdown of schools and non-essential businesses until April 29.

As New York witnessed nearly 600 deaths on Monday, Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the shutdown in the state until April 29. Cuomo said the fatality rate in the state was "effectively flat" in the last two days but ordered the shutdown of schools and non-essential businesses until April 29. Also read | UK death toll due to coronavirus crosses over 5,000 "Now is not the time to be lax," he told reporters, adding fines for the violations of social distancing guidelines would be increased to $1000 from $500. Earlier on Monday, the governor said that the state witnessed 599 new deaths from Sunday, taking the death toll to 4,758. Also read | American leadership wilts amid coronavirus pandemic New York recorded its highest daily death toll so far on Saturday with 630 deaths. Cuomo said the death rates had been dropping off since, suggesting that the state is seeing the peak of coronavirus outbreak. "It is hopeful but it is also inconclusive," the governor said. However, he warned of a "mistake" if social distancing measures are relaxed too soon. "If the curve is turning it's because the rate of infection is going down, if the rate of infection is going down it's because social distancing is working," Cuomo added. "If we are plateauing then we are plateauing at a very high level and there's tremendous stress on the health care system." Meanwhile, in the US, there have been 10,335 deaths from coronavirus and 347,003 positive cases, according to the tally by John Hopkins University. Almost 131,000 infections are confirmed in New York, Cuomo said. (With AFP inputs)

Coronavirus: New York shutdown extended till April 29 as US death toll crosses 10,000