Nearly 2,000 US coronavirus deaths for second day

The United States recorded nearly 2,000 novel coronavirus deaths for a second day in a row, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University as of 8:30 pm Wednesday (0030 GMT Thursday).

READ MORE

Boris Johnsons showing improvement remains in intensive care

The record-breaking figure of 1,973 deaths (slightly higher than the previous day's toll of 1,939) brings the total number of US fatalities to 14,695. The US death toll now exceeds that of Spain, which has suffered 14,555 deaths, but has not surpassed Italy, whose toll stands at 17,669.

President Donald Trump has defended his response to the crisis, and on Tuesday he blamed the World Health Organization for reacting slowly.

 President Donald Trump takes questions from reporters as he speaks about the coronavirus. AP

He questioned why the WHO had given "such a faulty recommendation," apparently referring to the UN body's advice against curtailing international travel to stop the virus which first spread from China.

"They called it wrong. They really missed the call. They could have called it months earlier," he said.

Trump has been widely criticized for initially downplaying the virus, which he likened to an ordinary flu and said was under control in the United States, before later accepting that it was a national emergency.