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Deaths level off in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — The steep rise in coronavirus deaths appeared to be leveling off Monday in hard-hit New York, echoing a trend underway in Italy and Spain.

The crisis escalated alarmingly in Britain, where Prime Minister Boris Johnson was moved to intensive care after his condition deteriorated.

Johnson, 55, was conscious and did not immediately need to be put on a ventilator, his office said. The prime minister is the world’s first known head of government to fall ill with the virus.

U.S. President Donald Trump said U.S. mitigation efforts are showing signs of slowing the spread of the virus. The government is distributing millions of N95 respirators, masks, face shields, gowns and gloves, the president said.

In the hot spot of New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the first, faint signs the outbreak there might be at or near its peak, while warning it’s no time to relax social distancing restrictions. He ordered bigger fines against violators.

Stocks rallied on Wall Street and around the world on the news out of the U.S. and places like Italy and Spain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 1,600 points, or nearly 8%.

Outbreaks in other places moved in the opposite direction: France recorded its highest 24-hour death toll since the epidemic began, 833. And Japan considered a state of emergency for Tokyo and other areas because of soaring infections in the country with the world’s third-largest economy and its oldest population.

Worldwide, more than 1.3 million people have been confirmed infected and over 74,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.

The latest data suggests that social distancing appears to be working in some countries, and better than expected.

One of the main models on the outbreak, the University of Washington’s, is now projecting about 82,000 U.S. deaths through early August, or 12 percent fewer than previously forecast, with the highest number of daily deaths occurring April 16.

The number of dead in New York state rose past 4,700, and the death toll in New York City closed in on the 2,753 lives lost at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

The state has been averaging just under 600 deaths per day for the past four days. Though horrific, the roughly steady daily totals were seen as a positive sign.

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