COVID-19 on Pace to Be Leading Killer in US This Week

COVID-19 is on pace this week to become the largest single killer of Americans for the first time, The Washington Post reported.

But there are already highly infected areas of the country where COVID-19 related deaths have dwarfed all causes, including New York state, New York City, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C., for the week of April 6-12 compared to an average April week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, historical data of the past five years suggests only heart disease killed more people in the U.S. than COVID-19 from April 6-12, according to the report.

The onslaught rose quickly, per the Post COVID-19 death timeline:

• Feb. 29: First U.S. death.
• March 16: First week of 20 deaths.
• March 23: First day of more than 100 deaths.
• March 30: First day of more than 500 deaths.
• April 2: First day of more than 1,000 deaths.
• April 10: First day any country had more than 2,000 deaths.

And the daily U.S. death total has not been lower than 1,000 since April 2, per the report.

All told, more than 39,040 have died in the U.S. since the testing began, according to Worldometers.

"It will take more than a year for epidemiologists and statisticians to calculate the final official toll of COVID-19 and put it into perspective," the Post reported. "Measured against typical deaths, however, COVID-19 is already the greatest killer in many parts of the country."

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