US now has most COVID-19 deaths

The US has now surpassed Italy as the country with the most deaths from COVID-19 several news agencies, including the Associated Press and the New York Times, are reporting. 

The New York Times reports that the number deaths, as of this afternoon, now stands at 20,110. It says, however, that the number of deaths per capita is fewer than Italy's. To date, the virus has killed 19,468 in Italy, or 32 individuals per 100,000 people.

The death toll has been increasing by some 2,000 per day. 

More than 16 million people are out of work in the US, as President Trump is forced to make the difficult decision, the Times says, about whether to reopen the country it reels economically from the pandemic.

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