The total number of deaths linked to the novel coronavirus in the U.S. now exceeds more than 5,000 according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins.
That figure has risen by nearly 2,000 since Tuesday evening.
As of 10:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, there were 216,515 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States. U.S. cases currently represent about 25 percent of all cases across the globe.
The true number of Americans infected is likely much higher because the U.S. is still only reserving COVID-19 states for high-risk patients. Johns Hopkins also estimates that at least 8,600 Americans have fully recovered from the disease, but that number is also likely much higher.
On Monday, President Donald Trump painted a grim picture of what's to come in the COVID-19 pandemic. Officials in his administration said Tuesday that they hope to limit deaths linked to the virus to between 100,000 and 240,000.
"This is a number that we can anticipate, but not accept that it is inevitable," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday.
According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, a research institute at the University of Washington in Seattle, the U.S. is still more than two weeks away from the peak of maximum healthcare resource use.
More than a quarter of all deaths linked to COVID-19 have occurred in New York City, where 1,374 people have died. More than 47,000 people in New York have contracted the virus, putting a considerable strain on the city's healthcare resources.
According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the demand for hospital beds in New York already far exceeds supply. The organization estimates that about 37,000 people that need a hospital bed are unable to get one.
The organization also projects that New York is still eight days away from reaching the peak of maximum resource demand.
