Coronavirus cases in US surpass 1,000

The number of coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 1,000 on Wednesday (local time) as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared a global pandemic.

The spread of the lethal infection which originated in China forced Americans to change their lifestyle including shutting down 15 universities, CNN reported.

At least 31 people have died in the country with a maximum number of deaths reported in Washington state -- 24. As many as three deaths were reported in California, two in Florida and one each in New Jersey and South Dakota.

In the US, large events have been postponed or cancelled as coronavirus concerns grew. A New York suburb now has a "containment zone."

More companies have been urged to let their employees work from home.

"Keeping the workplace safe, keeping the home safe, keeping the school safe and keeping commercial establishments safe -- this should be universal for the country," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"We would like the country to realise that, as a nation, we cannot be doing the kinds of things we were doing a few months ago," he added.

The number of confirmed cases is expected to rise significantly because there has been a major backlog in testing. So, some people with coronavirus might not even know it.

"We have very little access to testing," Dr. Carlos Del Rio, a professor of medicine and global health at Emory University, said on Wednesday.

"I think the lack of access to testing continues to be a barrier to taking care of patients efficiently and rapidly," Rio said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has declared a 1-mile "containment" area in the suburb of New Rochelle, where more than 100 residents have been infected.