New epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in US

The coronavirus outbreak reached a somber milestone in the U.S. on Thursday (March 26) — the nation now has more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world.

There are now at least 82,174 cases of the new coronavirus disease, COVID-19, in the United States, according to worldometer, a website that tracks coronavirus cases. That’s higher than the case count in either Italy (which has  80,589 cases) or China (which has 81,285 cases).

Nearly half of all U.S. coronavirus cases are in New York, which has reported more than 37,700 cases.

Just a few days ago, the World Health Organization warned that the U.S. had the potential to become the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

U.S. coronavirus cases have soared in recent weeks — at the beginning of March, the county had reported only about 100 cases total, according to worldometer.

Coronavirus cases in China, where the outbreak began, initially increased rapidly, but leveled off after about Feb. 20

Data correct at 13.25 UTC 27 March

Confirmed cases of Covid-19 for selected countries

The number of deaths is sadly a more dependable indicator. Looked at by this measure we again see that the disease is hitting Italy and Spain with particular cruelty. But the trajectory in many countries is the same; the UK and US are a couple of weeks behind Italy in the progress of the epidemic.

Confirmed deaths of Covid-19 for selected countries

Showing the number of deaths since the day of the first one, using a log scale. Data correct at 23.59 UTC 26 March

Meanwhile in Asia, where the disease began, the spread continues, although in China it seems for now to have passed its peak.

Confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Asia

Data correct at 13.25 UTC 27 March

In Europe most countries have closed schools, and many are in lockdown.

How the virus spread around the world