HEALTH

Every US state is now under a major disaster declaration amid coronavirus pandemic

A temporary hospital which is been settled up by members of the California National Guard is seen in Indio, California on March 29, 2020.

Apu Gomes | AFP | Getty Images

The entire country is now under a major disaster declaration for the coronavirus pandemic after the U.S. death toll reached the highest in the world on Saturday.

President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration for Wyoming on Saturday, which comes 22 days after the first disaster declaration in New York, the epicenter of the virus.

All 50 states as well as the U.S. Virgin islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico have received a federal disaster declaration. American Samoa is the one U.S. territory that isn’t under a major disaster declaration.

The designation by the Federal Emergency Management Agency allows states and territories to access federal funds to help fight the coronavirus spread. State officials and doctors have been competing for essential supplies like ventilators and personal protective equipment as hospitals grapple with shortages.

The coronavirus has devastated the U.S., which surpassed Italy on Saturday as the country with the most virus-related deaths in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

At least 20,071 people have died from the virus in the U.S. and more than 500,000 were infected as of Friday night. Italy has confirmed 19,468 deaths, Spain has recorded at least 16,353 deaths and France has confirmed 13,832 deaths.

As of Friday, the virus spread to more than 1.5 million people in almost every country around the world, and more than 107,000 people have died. 

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