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

Louisiana sees spike in cases

In Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards said in imposing stay-at-home rules over the weekend that his state had seen the highest spike in coronavirus cases anywhere in the world.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has warned that the nation's most populous state would also soon be desperately short of hospital beds, has closed parking lots at state-owned beaches and parks after seeing surfers and others disregarding stay-at-home rules.

Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said he had told Trump his state needed "millions of N95 masks and hundreds of ventilators just in the near term" and that the president had promised help.

"There has been some talk over the last 24 hours by some about who this nation might be willing to sacrifice to COVID-19, for the sake of our economic interests. Well, in case there's any doubt in your minds, I'm not willing to sacrifice anyone," Pritzker said.

Connecticut's confirmed cases soared by about 50 percent overnight to 618, and the infection rate is expected to continue escalating for the next two or three weeks, Governor Ned Lamont said.

"We thought it might get worse before it gets better and I'm afraid that we are right," Lamont told a news briefing.

There were signs that nerves had begun fraying after days of people working from home, looking after children whose schools are shut and severely scaling back on everyday activities.

At a Brooklyn playground, architect Carolyn Straub, 48, and her family took a break from their new lives working and schooling from home.

"That's actually been hard," Straub said. "The internet is not always reliable, goes down, and it's impossible for us to have four separate audio zones in the house."