US coronavirus death toll tops 80,000
Deaths from the Covid-19 pandemic in the US have topped 80,000, just as some states have begun relaxing lockdown measures and President Donald Trump tweeted the numbers are "looking much better."
WH officials had previously predicted a death total of 100,000 to 240,000 from the virus. Some states have already begun slowly reopening, including New York, which has been the hardest hit state in the US. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday some non-essential businesses will be allowed to reopen on Friday, declaring a partial victory over the virus, saying, "we are on the other side of the mountain."
The president celebrated the coronavirus numbers on Monday even though the country has nearly eclipsed the low end of his administration's death toll predictions. "Coronavirus numbers are looking MUCH better, going down almost everywhere. Big progress being made!" he tweeted, later showing support for anti-lockdown protestors in states like Pennsylvania and blasting Democrat governors for "moving slowly" in reopening their states for "political purposes."
The great people of Pennsylvania want their freedom now, and they are fully aware of what that entails. The Democrats are moving slowly, all over the USA, for political purposes. They would wait until November 3rd if it were up to them. Don’t play politics. Be safe, move quickly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2020
Deaths in the US from Covid-19 have averaged 2,000 a day since mid-April, and the 80,000-plus death toll — a tally compiled by both Reuters and John Hopkins University — now stands higher than the first 11 years of the AIDS pandemic from 1981 to 1992. Total confirmed cases in the US of the coronavirus stand at over 1.3 million.
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