Coronavirus: US deaths reach 3,393, exceeding death toll in China

An ambulance worker sprays disinfectant inside an ambulance outside The Brooklyn Hospital Center during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, U.S., March 31, 2020. REUTERS - BRENDAN MCDERMID

US coronavirus-related deaths reached 3,393 on Tuesday, exceeding the total number of deaths reported in China and reaching the third highest in the world behind Italy and Spain, according to a Reuters tally.

Health officials urged Americans to follow stay-at-home orders and other measures to contain the spread of the virus, which originated in China in December.

The number of people in New York who have tested positive for the coronavirus increased by more than 9,000 from a day earlier to 75,795, with deaths rising by 27 percent to 1,550, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Tuesday.

EN NW SOT CUOMO 19H

"The virus is more powerful, more dangerous than we expected," Cuomo told a daily news briefing. "We're still going up the mountain, the main battle is on top of the mountain."

Globally, there are now over 800,000 cases of the highly contagious illness caused by the virus and more than 39,000 deaths reported.

Italy has 11,591 reported deaths followed by Spain at 8,189.

(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)