Deaths in US surpass China's official toll, Trump warns country headed for 'tough two weeks'

More than 42,000 people have died worldwide in the coronavirus pandemic as the cases continue to rise dramatically, with the US becoming the new epicentre of the outbreak where the death toll surpassed China's official toll on Tuesday.

The virus has so far infected more than 858,000 people, killing at least 42,139 of them, according to the latest update provided by the John Hopkins University's coronavirus tracker. The pandemic has forced half the world population under a lockdown across continents, with India asking its 1.3 people to stay home for three weeks till April 14. 

The outbreak has hammered the global economy with the major economies staring at the recession as fallout from the pandemic. 

The US has the most cases with over 188,000, followed by Italy at 105,792, Spain 95,923 and China at 82,279. Italy has recorded the highest number of deaths with 12,428, followed by Spain's death toll of 8,464, US' 3,873, France's 3,523 and China's 3,308. 

Spain, France and Britain reported their highest deaths in a day on Tuesday. Italy and Spain, the two worst-affected countries, recorded 837 and 748 deaths in 24 hours, respectively. 

In the US, where the number of cases is rising exponentially, with the death toll surpassing China's official tally of 3,309, President Donald Trump has warned that the country is headed for "tough two weeks". 

The White House projects that the deadly virus could claim one to two lakh lives in the coming weeks as the nation recorded its highest one-day death on Tuesday with over 700 people infected people succumbing to COVID-19.

Deborah Bix, a member of White House Task Force on coronavirus, has said the death toll in the US could be between 100,000 to 200,000. The projection is based on a model from actual data from the ground, he said if the strict implementation of the existing measures including social distancing takes place till April 30.

The death toll could range between 1.5 million and 2.2 million if no steps were to be taken, Brix said.

France's death toll also surpassed that of China with 3,525 deaths. The official toll includes only those who died in hospital and not those who died at home or in old people's homes, reports said. 

China, where the outbreak was first reported, is now fourth in terms of the number of cases and fifth when it comes to the death toll.