New York (Reuters): The US death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed past 3,000 on Monday, the deadliest day yet in the country’s mounting crisis, while New York cheered the arrival of a gleaming 1,000-bed US Navy hospital ship as a sign of hope in the city’s desperate fight.

In a grim new milestone marking the spread of the virus, total deaths across the United States hit 3,017, including at least 540 on Monday, and the reported cases climbed to more than 163,000, according to a Reuters tally. 

The United States has the most confirmed cases in the world, a number that is likely to soar when tests for the virus become more widespread.

New COVID-19 cases peak

Worldwide coronavirus deaths cross 38,800

Party leaders to meet tomorrow to discuss COVID-19