A little hope in the United States. With 1,258 additional deaths from the new coronavirus in 24 hours, the country recorded its lowest daily balance on Friday, April 24, in almost three weeks, according to the Johns Hopkins University count. These new deaths bring the total number of disease-related deaths in the United States to 51,017, by far the most bereaved country in absolute terms.

However, this one-off drop does not indicate any trend for the moment, and will have to be repeated in the coming days to confirm an improvement in the situation. On Thursday, the United States had on the contrary recorded one of its heaviest daily reports, with more than 3,170 deaths in 24 hours.

America also has the highest number of officially reported cases, with more than 890,000 cases diagnosed since the start of the pandemic. Some 96,000 people are declared cured.

The virus imported to New York from Europe

The Governor of the State of New York for his part announced Friday research indicating that strains of the new coronavirus had arrived from Europe, not China. He said the travel bans by Donald Trump were too late to prevent the spread of the virus.

These comments fuel a heated political debate about when and how the new coronavirus entered the United States, and whether U.S. officials including Donald Trump could have saved more lives by acting sooner.

Another debate is underway in the country, about the reopening of economic activity. Certain American States have already started to embark on the path of deconfinement. "Half of all Americans live in states that have now taken some steps to open their economies," said Donald Trump on Friday. Non-essential businesses reopened in Georgia on Friday, authorized by the governor. 

FR NW PKG DECONFINEMENT GEORGIE 20H

With AFP and Reuters

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