US could be new global epicenter of COVID-19: WHO

NEW YORK - New York state suffered another quick and brutal rise in the number of coronavirus cases on Tuesday as officials raced to make more hospital beds available and the World Health Organization said the United States could become the next epicenter of the global pandemic.

New York City, home to more than 8 million people, had 157 deaths and some 15,000 cases of COVID-19, nearly one-third the US total on Tuesday, despite imposing strict limits on travel, socializing and work.

"If you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy, then it's no contest. No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life," New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at a Manhattan convention center that was being converted into a 1,000-bed temporary hospital.

Cuomo's remarks were a rebuke to President Donald Trump, who pressed his case on Tuesday for re-opening the US economy by mid-April, saying lockdowns should be more targeted to spare businesses as much pain as possible.

The WHO on Tuesday said that the United States had the potential to become the global epicenter of the pandemic, citing a "very large acceleration" in coronavirus infections.

The expected need for hospital beds in New York state at the peak of the outbreak has spiraled to 140,000, Cuomo said, compared with 110,000 previously projected. Only 53,000 beds are said to be available now.

The rate of infection is now doubling every three days in New York and the worst of the outbreak, known as the apex, could arrive in 14 to 21 days, putting huge pressure on health services, Cuomo said.

Nationwide, COVID-19 has infected nearly 50,000 people and killed 640, with more than a quarter of the deaths in New York state.