--- title: "The US Now Has the Most Coronavirus Cases in the World" description: "On Thursday, the US surpassed all other countries in the world to have the highest number of coronavirus cases. And it's not a good look." date: "2020-03-27" modified: "2020-03-27" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/trumps-america-coronavirus-most-cases-world" categories: - "Future Society" - "Health & Medicine" - "Medical" - "Pathogens" - "Viruses" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid-19" - "the digest" - "virus" --- # The US Now Has the Most Coronavirus Cases in the World ![On Thursday, the US surpassed all other countries in the world to have the highest number of coronavirus cases. And it's not a good look.]() *\Image: John Hopkins/Victor Tangermann\* ## USA Number One On Thursday, the United States went flying past every other nation's count, to claim the title of the most coronavirus cases in the world. As of this morning, the United States has upwards of [94,000 cases](), while China currently stands at just past of 86,000 — despite the fact that China has four times the population than the US. The number of deaths is still comparatively low in the US at around 1,400 (Italy, by comparison, is at a staggering [8,200 deaths]() so far). It's a grim reality — an entire country of 330 million people has come to a standstill with people self-isolating at home to keep themselves and the people around them safe. ## Testing, Testing And the trend is very likely to continue as the US has been extremely slow in testing new patients. South Korea alone has tested more than six times the number of patients, as [*NPR* reports](). Countless patients have been turned away because they simply didn't meet the prerequisite symptoms — or because hospitals simply didn't have any tests available. Others were [denied any treatment]() because they didn't have health insurance. ## Bleak Outlook The US economy is in shambles right now. The news comes after almost 3.3 million Americans filed for unemployment claims last week — the highest number in recorded history. The next highest weekly number of claims was in October 1982 with just [695,000](). But competent leadership is hard to come by right now with Trump in office. While the number of cases and deaths are soaring in the country, president Trump announced on Tuesday that he would like to have the country "opened up and just raring to go by Easter," as [*CNN* reported](), despite the fact that doing so could have disastrous consequences, according to experts. **CORRECTION:** *An earlier version of this article misstated the number of American deaths due to COVID-19; the number is 1,400, not 3,200 — that's China's current count. The article has been updated to reflect the accurate number.* **READ MORE:** [U.S. Surpasses China In Cases Of Coronavirus]() \[*NPR*\] **More on the virus:** *[Bill Gates Is Pissed: “We Should’ve Done More” to Stop COVID-19]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()