Washington: The US recorded 518 new coronavirus-linked deaths in the span of 24 hours, according to data published Sunday by Johns Hopkins University.

The record toll, higher than the previous day's increase of 453, brings the country's total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to 2,409.

The number of cases shot up 21,333 in one day, the data showed.That is about the same as Saturday's increase of 21,309 but the numbers are counted in real time by Johns Hopkins and should be taken with caution.

With 136,880 total cases, the US has the highest number in the world, ahead of Italy, China and Spain.

New York state, which has become the epicentre of the pandemic in the US, is by far the hardest-hit region, with nearly 60,000 cases and 965 deaths, according to a statement released Sunday by Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Senior US scientist Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert and an advisor to President Donald Trump during the crisis, cautiously predicted Sunday that the novel coronavirus could claim between 100,000 and 200,000 lives in the United States. 

 

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Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.

The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.

Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.

The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.

Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.

The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.