US may become next centre of coronavirus pandemic, says WHO

The US could become the new centre of the global coronavirus pandemic, according to the World Health Organization, which said case numbers were rising quickly there even as Donald Trump talked of reopening the country for business.

“We are now seeing a very large acceleration in cases in the US. So it does have that potential [to become the centre of the pandemic],” said Margaret Harris, a WHO spokeswoman.

Meanwhile in India, Narendra Modi ordered a 21-day lockdown of the whole country, the world’s second most populous, after researchers warned more than 1 million people could be infected by mid-May.

“The only way to save ourselves from coronavirus is if we don’t leave our homes, whatever happens, we stay at home,” the prime minister said, who was giving his second address in less than a week to try to rally India’s 1.3 billion people to support the drastic measures.

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