More than 40,000 people in the U.S. have now died of the novel coronavirus, according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins University.
According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington — a model followed closely by federal medical officials — the total number of reported deaths linked to the novel coronavirus has doubled in the last eight days.
The first death linked to the virus occurred on Feb. 26.
New York City remains the epicenter of the virus in the U.S. As of Sunday afternoon, there at least 14,451 confirmed deaths in the city and 135,527 confirmed cases.
Outside of New York City and its surrounding areas, Detroit and Chicago are the areas with the most deaths linked to the disease. In Michigan, Wayne and Oakland Counties have combined for 1,528 deaths linked to the coronavirus. Cook County, Illinois — the county that includes Chicago — has recorded 860 deaths.
As of Sunday evening, that were nearly 750,000 confirmed cases of the virus across the country. Around the world, 2.3 million people have contracted the virus, and 164,000 people have died.
