WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Tuesday, coronavirus death toll in the United States crossed 200,000.
With 994 additional deaths reporting in the last 24 hours, the national total reached 200814, as per Johns Hopkins University's latest data.
After a lull in the number of infections, daily number of cases rose back to the levels seen at the beginning of this month.
With the addition of 39,465 coronavirus-related cases in the last 24 hours, total number of infections in the country reached 6897432.
Cases are increasing in 24 states, including North Dakota, Utah, Texas and South Dakota, according to CNN.
Even as the United States hit the ominous mark, President Donald Trump defended his record dealing with the pandemic, saying that if actions were not taken by his administration, 'you could have two and a half million deaths.' Trump repeated his blame on China for the global spread of the pandemic.
'China should've stopped it at their border. They should've never let this spread all over the world,' he told reporters during remarks he made before Marine One departure at the The White House.
At a White House news conference Tuesday, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany was asked, 'At 200,000 deaths, shouldn't the President be telling people the truth about this virus at his rallies.'
'Europe has experienced a 28 percent higher excess mortality rate than the United States - it's a testament to the hard work done by the task force and this President,' she told reporters.
Speaking at the Citizen by CNN conference Tuesday, the U.S. government's top infectious diseases specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci said 'it's not acceptable to not realize that we are entering into a risk period and we've got to act accordingly.'
Meanwhile, a Democrat lawmaker said the House Oversight Committee is going to investigate the reason why the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention abruptly retracted its updated guidance that coronavirus often spreads through air.
'One way or another, we're going to investigate it and find out,' said Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who is a member of the committee.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2020 AFX News
