US overtakes Italy with highest COVID-19 deaths

The total number of deaths related to the novel coronavirus in the United States surpassed that of Italy on Saturday, with at least 20,506 lives succumbing to the outbreak, and as many as 527,111 people getting infected by the contagion so far, according to Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University.

The States recorded 1,920 deaths related to the novel coronavirus over the past 24 hours.

Italy, the hardest-hit country in Europe with a population a fifth of the size of the US, was also approaching the bleak marker, with 19,468 confirmed virus fatalities, South China Morning Post reported.

The United States has seen its highest death tolls to date in the epidemic with roughly 2,000 deaths a day reported for the last four days in a row.

The global death toll now stands at more than 108,000.

Many experts and the World Health Organisation (WHO) are cautioning countries against lifting lockdown measures too quickly.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Friday that jumping the gun could lead to a "deadly resurgence" of the novel coronavirus, known as SARS-CoV-2.

From the crowded slums of Mexico City, Nairobi and Mumbai to conflict hot spots in the Middle East, there are fears that the worst is yet to come for the world's poorest.

With China already ending its once-severe lockdown in Wuhan, US President Donald Trump said last that the disease was near its peak in the United States and he was considering ways to reopen the world's biggest economy as soon as possible.

"But you know what? Staying at home leads to death also," Trump said.