Coronavirus: US has one-quarter of world’s 15 million confirmed cases as Donald Trump says pandemic to ‘get worse’

The US approached the milestone of 4 million confirmed case as India passed Spain for the grim distinction of having the seven-highest death toll

Meanwhile, a new survey found most Americans were expecting to work from home this autumn, as big US firms reap huge profits amid the pandemic

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A display of 164 pairs of white clogs arranged outside the US Capitol building by National Nurses United to honour the more than 160 nurses who have lost their lives from Covid-19 in the United States. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:10pm, 22 Jul 2020Updated: 9:13pm, 13 Oct 2020

Confirmed coronavirus infections in the United States approached 4 million on Wednesday – more than one-quarter of the 15 million cases reported worldwide – as global deaths exceeded 615,500, according to a Reuters tally.

The milestone grew nearer as India passed Spain for the grim distinction of having the world’s seventh-highest death toll and a new survey found that most Americans were expecting their homes to continue being a place of both work and learning when the school year starts this autumn.

More than 60 per cent of the 1,970 respondents to The Harris Poll survey, conducted from July 18-19, said it was likely they will be still working from home this autumn, with 56 per cent saying it was unlikely they would be returning to the office.

Two-thirds said they did not expect their kids to be in school by then and most do not expect to travel any time soon, with three-fourths saying it is unlikely they will travel for a winter holiday this year.

The survey findings suggest that “a sense of acceptance that ‘this will be a marathon, not a sprint’ is taking hold across America,” said The Harris Poll CEO John Gerzema. “And most telling, perhaps, is that 80 per cent of Americans anticipate a second wave of Covid-19 even as we battle this first one.”

With authorities reporting on Tuesday the highest daily nationwide death toll in weeks of nearly 1,000, President Donald Trump rebooted his coronavirus briefings with a warning about a surge in US cases even as he sought to reassure Americans that his administration has the crisis under control.