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   From: bksherman@latimes.com   
      
   New York state now has more coronavirus cases than any other   
   country outside the US, according to latest figures.   
      
   The state's confirmed caseload of Covid-19 jumped by 10,000 on   
   Thursday to 159,937, placing it ahead of Spain (153,000 cases)   
   and Italy (143,000).   
      
   China, where the virus emerged last year, has reported 82,000   
   cases.   
      
   The US as a whole has recorded 462,000 cases and nearly 16,500   
   deaths. Globally there are 1.6 million cases and 95,000 deaths.   
      
   While New York state leads the world in coronavirus cases, its   
   death toll (7,000) lags behind Spain (15,500) and Italy   
   (18,000), though it is more than double the official figure from   
   China (3,300).   
      
   Photos have emerged of workers in hazmat outfits burying coffins   
   in a mass grave in New York City.   
      
   Drone footage showed workers using a ladder to descend into the   
   huge pit where the caskets were stacked.   
      
   The images were taken at Hart Island, off the Bronx, which has   
   been used for more than 150 years by city officials as a mass   
   burial site for those with no next-of-kin, or families who   
   cannot afford funerals.   
      
   Burial operations at the site have ramped up amid the pandemic   
   from one day a week to five days a week, according to the   
   Department of Corrections.   
      
   Prisoners from Rikers Island usually do the job, but the rising   
   workload has recently been taken over by contractors.   
      
   New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio indicated earlier this week   
   the city's public cemetery might be used for burials during the   
   pandemic.   
      
   "Obviously the place we have used historically is Hart Island,"   
   he said.   
      
   The number of coronavirus deaths in New York state increased to   
   799 on Wednesday, a record high for a third day.   
      
   But Governor Andrew Cuomo took heart from the fact that the   
   number of Covid-19 patients admitted to New York hospitals   
   dropped for a second day, to 200.   
      
   He said it was a sign social distancing was working. He called   
   the outbreak a "silent explosion that ripples through society   
   with the same randomness, the same evil that we saw on 9/11".   
      
   Another glimmer of hope was heralded on Thursday as official   
   projections for the nationwide death toll were lowered.   
      
   Dr Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus   
   task force, told NBC News' Today show on Thursday the final   
   number of Americans who will die from Covid-19 in the outbreak   
   "looks more like 60,000".   
      
   In late March, Dr Fauci estimated "between 100,000 and 200,000"   
   could die.   
      
   The 60,000 projection would match the upper estimate for total   
   flu deaths in the US between October 2019 to March 2020,   
   according to government data.   
      
   But Vice-President Mike Pence stressed on Thursday that Covid-19   
   is about three times as contagious as influenza.   
      
   One virus, two Americas   
   Four out of five jobs affected by virus globally   
   Coronavirus: A visual guide to the economic impact   
   Global economy will suffer for 'years to come'   
   The White House has previously touted estimates that 2.2 million   
   Americans could die from coronavirus if nothing was done to stop   
   its spread.   
      
   Stay-at-home orders have in the meantime closed non-essential   
   businesses in 42 states, while drastically slowing the US   
   economy.   
      
   New data on Thursday showed unemployment claims topped 6 million   
   for the second week in a row, bringing the number of Americans   
   out of work over the last three weeks to 16.8 million.   
      
   Chicago meanwhile imposed a curfew on liquor sales from 21:00   
   local time on Thursday to stop the persistent violation of a ban   
   on large gatherings.   
      
   The measure, due to remain in place until 30 April, comes after   
   health officials this week said black Chicagoans account for   
   half of all the Illinois city's coronavirus cases and more than   
   70% of its deaths, despite making up just 30% of the population.   
      
   "We are putting this curfew in place because too many   
   individuals and businesses have been violating the stay-at-home   
   order," said Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday.   
      
   Gun violence in Chicago on Tuesday left seven dead and 14   
   injured, which city officials said was unforgivable given the   
   virus crisis.   
      
   "Every one of those ER beds taken up by a gunshot victim could   
   be somebody's grandmother, somebody with pre-existing   
   conditions, somebody that is in danger of losing their lives   
   because of the pandemic," Supt Charlie Beck said.   
      
      
   Media caption‘I just had a baby - now I’m going to the   
   frontline.’   
   Figures from Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, Wisconsin and New   
   York reflect the same racial disparity in coronavirus infections.   
      
   Presumptive Democratic White House nominee Joe Biden joined   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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