US sees 1,738 new coronavirus deaths in 24 hours, toll nears 50,000

The United States on Wednesday recorded 1,738 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a lower toll than the day before.

According to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University, the new deaths brought the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the US to 46,583 since the outbreak.

US deaths totalled 47,050 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters tally.

Since the outbreak in the US, the death toll has soared to the highest in the world. The deaths increased by 2,792 on Tuesday alone. As many as 2,806 deaths were recorded in a single day on April 15.

A University of Washington model has projected a total of nearly 66,000 US coronavirus deaths by August 4, an upward revision from its most recent previous estimate of 60,000 deaths. At current rates, US deaths could reach 50,000 later this week.

New York state, the epicentre of the US outbreak, reported 474 new deaths on Wednesday, the smallest increase since April 1. Some nearby states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey reported record single-day deaths tolls on Tuesday.

The United States has by far the world's largest number of confirmed coronavirus cases at over 8,30,000. Cases rose 20,000 so far on Wednesday and were on track to continue the slow but steady decline seen throughout April.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday applauded steps taken by a handful of Republican-led US states, including Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee, to start reopening their economies despite warnings of a potential fresh surge of coronavirus infections.