The United States has surpassed 60,000 domestic deaths from the novel coronavirus, The Hill reported Wednesday, citing figures from Johns Hopkins University.
The US accounts for roughly a quarter of the global deaths related to COVID-19, according to the Johns Hopkins data.
More than one million Americans have tested positive for the virus since the first US case was confirmed on January 21. The US recorded its one millionth coronavirus case on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump, during a press conference in the Rose Garden on Monday, noted the estimate that up to 2.2 million people would have died without social distancing measures put in place to limit the spread of the virus, crediting his administration with the steps it has taken to save American lives.
“We've lost a lot of people. But if you look at what original projections were – 2.2 million – we're probably heading to 60,000, 70,000,” Trump told reporters. “It's far too many. One person is too many for this.”
Meanwhile, Trump on Wednesday received the support of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) for his promotion of an anti-malarial drug to treat the coronavirus.
AAPS presented data obtained after a study of 2,333 coronavirus patients treated with the hydroxychloroquine drug. The study found that 91.6% of patients got better after being administered the drug.