US hits record 2,228 deaths in past 24 hours: Johns Hopkins tally

The United States recorded 2,228 deaths related to the coronavirus pandemic over the past 24 hours, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 8:30 pm Tuesday (0030 GMT Wednesday).

The number of fatalities was a sharp increase after two days in decline, and beat the previous high of 2,108 on April 10.

The outbreak has now claimed the lives of at least 25,757 people in the US, the most of any country.

But President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that swaths of the United States could lift coronavirus shutdowns “very soon” and said he could see “rays of light” on the horizon for the world’s largest economy.