Coronavirus: US death toll surges past 500

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in the United States surged past 500 on Monday. 

The total number of victims now stands at 573, according to Johns Hopkins University, which is tracking cases across the world. It represents a significant jump from the previously recorded toll of 499. 

The number of confirmed infections in the US is now 41,708, the third-highest number of cases in the world behind China and Italy.   

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The news came as the US military said it was preparing to deploy field hospitals in New York and Seattle. 

“Right now I anticipate sending a hospital to Seattle and a hospital to New York City,” defence secretary Mark Esper told a news conference, adding that he had put five expeditionary units on prepare to deploy orders. “Once that’s confirmed, we will look to sending to other places.”

New York is now the worst-impacted state in the US, with nearly 100 deaths. The number of infections there represents 5 per cent of the global total.