US coronavirus outbreak crosses grim 100,000 threshold

WASHINGTON

The U.S. crossed a somber threshold Friday with a private tally counting over 100,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the country as leaders struggle to thwart the virus' spread.

A running tally from Johns Hopkins University found 100,717 confirmed COVID-19 infections across the country, including 1,544 deaths. Over 860 people have recovered, according to the university's data.

The U.S. on Thursday surpassed Italy and China to become the country with the largest number of coronavirus infections. The countries have 86,498 and 81,897 number of cases, respectively.

Worldwide, there are 590,594 confirmed cases and about 27,000 deaths. Nearly 130,000 others recovered from the disease.

President Donald Trump earlier Friday signed a mammoth $2.2 trillion stimulus package into law as the U.S. seeks to blunt the economic impact of the pandemic.

New York City, the U.S.'s financial capital, has become the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak with 366 deaths recorded by Johns Hopkins.

In the wider state there are 453, the most of any state in the U.S. It is followed by Washington state, where the virus spread early outside of Seattle, with 109 deaths and New Jersey with 82.

After emerging in Wuhan, China last December, coronavirus has spread to at least 176 countries and territories.

The World Health Organization has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global pandemic.

*Servet Gunerigok contributed to the story