Coronavirus: Donald Trump Says Peak Death Rate To Hit In Two Weeks As US Records 518 Deaths In 24 Hours

As the United States recorded 518 new coronavirus-linked deaths in the span of 24 hours on Sunday, President Donald Trump said that the peak death rate from the COVID-19 pandemic was likely to hit in two weeks.

Trump, during a briefing at the White House, also said that he was extending the government's social distancing guidelines until April 30. Trump also said he expects the country "will be well on our way to recovery" by June 1. He had earlier predicted the recovery to begin by Easter.

"The modelling estimates that the peak in death rate is likely to hit in two weeks," the president said.

"Therefore, we will be extending our guidelines to April 30th to slow the spread," he said.

Meanwhile, the US recorded 518 new coronavirus-linked deaths in the span of 24 hours, according to data published Sunday by Johns Hopkins University. The record toll, higher than the previous day's increase of 453, brings the country's total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 2,409. The number of cases shot up 21,333 in one day, the data showed.

With 1,36,880 total cases, the US has the highest number in the world, ahead of Italy, China and Spain.

New York state, which has become the epicentre of the pandemic in the US, is by far the hardest-hit region, with nearly 60,000 cases and 965 deaths, according to a statement released Sunday by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Senior US scientist Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert and an advisor to President Donald Trump during the crisis, cautiously predicted Sunday that the novel coronavirus could claim between 100,000 and 200,000 lives in the United States.