Worrying graphs compare Italy's coronavirus trajectory to America's amid fears US will become the new epicenter of the killer disease - as the death toll rises to 628 including the first child and the number of infections increases to 50,000
Italy's dramatic rise in coronavirus cases has sparked fear for what lies ahead for the United States as the World Health Organization warned the US could soon become the global epicenter of the pandemic.
The death toll in the United States increased to 628 on Tuesday, including the first person under the age of 18, while the number of infections rose to 50,075.
Italy has so far suffered the world's deadliest outbreak of the pandemic with 6,820 deaths and 69,176 cases after abruptly overtaking China - where the outbreak began in late December. In China, 3,281 people have died and there are 81,591 confirmed cases.
The US, which is third in terms of fatal cases globally, is almost two weeks behind both Italy and China in terms of the outbreak.
Italy and the US are 12 days apart in terms of reporting its first coronavirus deaths - with Italy's first death confirmed on February 20 and the US on March 3.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths and cases in Italy is now showing signs of a potential decrease as the World Health Organization warns the US could soon become the global epicenter of the pandemic following a 'very large acceleration'
Italy and the US are 12 days apart in terms of reporting its first coronavirus deaths - with Italy's first death confirmed on February 20 and the US on March 3. It is likely the US will soon overtake hard-hit Italy in the number of infections
Monday marked two weeks since Italy imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 9 in a desperate bid to stop the spread. The country had also ordered its schools to close days earlier on March 4.
There is no national lockdown in place currently in the US but 17 states have issued stay at home orders that are affecting about 187 million Americans.
It is likely the US will soon overtake hard-hit Italy in the number of infections.
Health officials say the US is also on track to eventually overtake China's infections. The US last week was already reporting more new daily cases of coronavirus than China did at the apparent peak of the outbreak there.
Authorities have warned that how soon that happens depends on how seriously Americans take the restrictions being imposed on them.
In New York, now one of the world's biggest virus hotspots, authorities rushed to set up the thousands of hospital beds they will need in just weeks to protect the city's 8.4 million people.
More than 12,000 people have tested positive in the city and 125 have died. A state-wide lockdown took effect on Sunday night.
Los Angeles County reported the death of a child on Tuesday, marking the first time a person under the age of 18 has succumbed to coronavirus in the US.
The number of coronavirus cases in California skyrocketed to more than 2,200 as cities on the West Coast scrambled to enforce lockdowns, manufacture medical supplies, procure hospital beds and slow the spread of COVID-19.
This chart shows the number of daily new cases in China (red) and the US (blue), starting from the dates on which each country crossed the threshold of 30 new cases. Last Thursday, the US number of daily new cases surpassed China's peak
In Italy, the death toll rose by 743 on Tuesday. A day earlier, the number of deaths was 602, which was the smallest increase for four days and raised hopes that the most aggressive phase of the pandemic may be passing.
Those figures in Italy suggest a possible four week peak projection - and not six weeks - for hot spots within the United States.
'Today is perhaps the first positive day we have had in this hard, very tough month,' said Giulio Gallera, Italy's top health official in the northern region of Lombardy, said on Monday.
'It is not the time to sing victory, but we are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.'
Despite this, there was also a significant fall in the number of tests carried out in Italy.
The head of Italy's national health institute, Silvio Brusaferro, said it was too soon to say if the recent decline in daily deaths and new cases would continue.
It comes as the World Health Organization revealed a grim outlook for the US, saying on Tuesday that the United State could quickly become the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.
WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris said there had been a 'very large acceleration' in infections in the United States.
Over the previous 24 hours, 85 percent of new cases were in Europe and the United States, and of those, 40 percent were in the United States.
Asked whether the US could become the new epicenter, Harris said: 'We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the U.S. So it does have that potential.'
Some US state and local officials have decried a lack of coordinated federal action, saying that having localities act on their own has put them in competition for supplies.
Health officials and leaders have warned the world was entering a critical period that would determine just how deeply the coronavirus pandemic slices through their nations.
The warnings come just hours after President Donald Trump said he will reconsider the nation's social distancing policy within a matter of days and promised America will be open for business 'very soon'.
Top congressional and White House officials are yet to agree on a $2 trillion coronavirus rescue package but say say they expect to reach a deal some time on Tuesday.
Trump announced a new set of policies on Monday meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus, which included closing restaurants and banning social gatherings with more than 10 people.
But he indicated that he supports a quick return to normal life, citing the economic impact coming from all the businesses being shuttered because of the pandemic.
'America will, again, and soon, be open for business. Very soon,' the president said at the daily White House coronavirus briefing.
'A lot sooner than three or four months that somebody was suggesting. Lot sooner. We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself. We're not going to let the cure be worse than the problem.
ITALY: Patients are pictured in intensive care in Cremona, Italy on Tuesday
UNITED STATES: A registered nurse works to get swabs from a drive thru COVID-19 testing station in Washington state on March 17
It comes as China's Hubei province, where the coronavirus pandemic originated, will lift travel restrictions on people leaving the region as the epidemic there eases but other regions will tighten controls as new cases double due to imported infections.
The Hubei Health Commission has announced it would lift curbs on outgoing travellers starting March 25, provided they had a health clearance code.
The provincial capital Wuhan, where the virus first appeared and which has been in total lockdown since since January 23, will see its travel restrictions lifted on April 8.
However, the risk from overseas infections appears to be on the rise, prompting tougher screening and quarantine measures in major cities such as the capital Beijing.
China had 78 new cases on Monday, the National Health Commission said, a two-fold increase from Sunday. Of the new cases, 74 were imported infections, up from 39 imported cases a day earlier.
The Chinese capital Beijing was the hardest-hit, with a record 31 new imported cases, followed by southern Guangdong province with 14 and the financial hub of Shanghai with nine. The total number of imported cases stood at 427 as of Monday.
Only four new cases were local transmissions. One was in Wuhan which had not reported a new infection in five days.
Wuhan residents will soon be allowed to leave with a health tracking code, a QR code, which will have an individual's health status linked to it.
