U.S. coronavirus deaths now surpass fatalities in the Vietnam War

The U.S. death toll from the novel coronavirus on Tuesday exceeded the 58,220 American lives lost during the Vietnam War as cases topped 1 million, according to a Reuters tally.

During 1968, the deadliest year for the U.S. in Vietnam, the death toll of 16,899 occurred at about half the pandemic’s rate — 8.5 troops were killed for every 100,000 U.S. residents.

About 30 per cent of the cases have occurred in New York state, the epicentre of the U.S. outbreak, followed by New Jersey, Massachusetts, California and Pennsylvania.

The U.S. death toll since the first death recorded on February 29 reached 58,233 on Tuesday, up more than 2,000 from the prior day.

“We’re in war,” President Donald Trump proclaimed at a White House news conference last week. “I call it the ‘invisible enemy.’ That’s the war, and it’s a dangerous war.”