#Coronavirus ravages parts of the US as New York sees record lows

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A family is seen at Disney World today during a phased reopening of the theme park.
REUTERS

More Americans are dying from coronavirus nationwide as the pandemic rages in the southern and western parts of the country, statistics show.

More than 134,600 people in the US have now died of COVID-19, a figure that’s increased over the last two weeks — with 27 states, including Florida, Texas, California and Arizona, seeing a rise in fatalities.

There were 802 deaths in the country on Friday alone, according to a report.

In New York, however, the pandemic remained under control with the lowest average deaths and hospitalizations in the state since mid-March, Gov. Cuomo said Saturday.

In the past three days, COVID-19 deaths statewide were in the single digits, with just 6 reported Friday, and hospitalizations fell to below 800 for the first time since March 18, Cuomo said Saturday.

In California, 8,000 state prisoners are set to be released in a bid to slow the virus’ spread, officials told Reuters. Only prisoners with less than a year remaining on their sentences will be eligible for release. Those with violent rap sheets or convictions for sex crimes will be excluded from the program.

In Texas, a patient in their 30s who had attended a “COVID party” made a chilling confession before dying of coronavirus, a doctor said.

“Just before the patient died, they looked at their nurse and said ‘I think I made a mistake, I thought this was a hoax, but it’s not,’” Dr. Jane Appleby, Chief Medical Officer of Methodist Healthcare in San Antonio, told NBC.

And in Florida, a bit of normalcy returned with the opening of Disney World after nearly four months — even as cases in the state surge, with more than 10,000 new cases and 95 deaths reported Saturday.

Across the pond, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was all about work, not play, urging employers to get people back in the office as early as next week, according to a report.

“I think everybody’s taken the ‘stay at home if you can’ [advice]. I think now we should say ‘go back to work if you can,’” he said.