The United States on Saturday surpassed Italy for most fatalities from the new coronavirus of any country, according to Johns Hopkins University.

New York | The United States on Saturday surpassed Italy for most fatalities from the new coronavirus of any country, according to Johns Hopkins University.
A running tally from the Baltimore-based university showed that at least 19,700 people had died in the U.S., while nearly 19,500 had lost their lives in Italy, which previously bore the grim record for the highest death toll during the global pandemic.
Medical personnel transport a body from a refrigerated truck at Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York.  AP
Different population sizes, reporting standards and approaches to testing make comparisons between countries difficult, and the true number of infections is likely higher, in part owing to testing shortages. Similarly, the death tolls might be greater.
In the U.S. – which has by far the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases globally, with about 503,600 infections – New York remains the hardest hit state, with more cases than any other country in the world.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said 783 more people had died, which was consistent with the daily death toll in recent days, taking the total number of deaths in the state to more than 8,600.