New York sees highest single-day deaths from COVID-19

WASHINGTON

New York state recorded its highest single-day death toll, with nearly 800 deaths in the past day, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday.

The death toll was up 779, bringing the total to 6,268 across the hardest-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The number of deaths will continue to rise as those hospitalized for the longer period of time pass away," said Cuomo during a daily news conference.

"Every number is a face," he added.

In a bid to add perspective, he said the state lost 2,753 people at the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The majority of the deaths came from New York City, which reported 4,571, according to a running tally by Johns Hopkins University.

The number of people who have died from the virus in the U.S. reached 14,262 as of Wednesday afternoon, whereas nearly 23,000 recovered, the university's data showed.

With 419.975 confirmed cases, the U.S. has become the country with the most infections in the world, followed by Spain, Italy and Germany.

Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 184 countries and regions.

There are more than 1.49 million confirmed infections worldwide and with more than 87,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins. More than 317,000 have recovered.