Originally published 2020-04-12.
On Friday, 10 April 2020, the United States became the first country to report more than 2,000 deaths from COVID-19 in a single day. The Johns Hopkins University tally showed 2,108 deaths in the previous 24 hours, a world record at that point in the pandemic. The national total stood at 18,586, just below Italy’s 18,849, and the following day the US passed Italy to record the most COVID-19 deaths of any country.
This page explains what that record meant, how the figure was counted, what was happening across the country that week, and how the numbers grew in the years that followed.
How the 2,108 figure was counted
The number came from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, which gathered reports from state and local health departments and became the most widely quoted source during the early pandemic. According to an AFP report, the figure was released at 8:30 pm Eastern time on 10 April 2020.
A daily total like this reflects the deaths reported in a 24-hour window, not necessarily the deaths that happened on that day. Health departments often reported in batches, and weekends and holidays could delay figures. Daily counts therefore jump around, which is why researchers usually prefer seven-day averages. Even with those caveats, the 10 April figure showed how fast the virus was spreading in the US.
Older accounts of the record sometimes gave a US total above 20,000 for the same moment. That number was reached a day later, on 11 April, when the US overtook Italy.
The numbers that week
- Confirmed cases: about 496,500 by the evening of 10 April, with roughly 35,000 new cases in a day. The half-million mark was crossed within hours.
- New York: the worst-hit state, reporting close to 800 deaths a day and a cumulative toll of more than 7,800 at the time.
- Worldwide: global deaths passed 100,000 on 10 April, with about 1.7 million confirmed infections in more than 180 countries. The US accounted for close to a third of known cases.
- Europe: Spain, Italy, France and Germany had each recorded well over 100,000 cases.
Comparing the US with Italy needs some care. Italy has roughly 60 million people, the US more than 300 million, so the American death rate per person was still lower than Italy’s at that point even though its total was higher.
Signs of hope in New York
Governor Andrew Cuomo told reporters that week that New York’s curve appeared to be flattening. The number of patients in intensive care had fallen for the first time since the outbreak began, and hospital admissions were slowing. Cuomo stressed that this was a result of social distancing and warned that easing up too early would undo the progress.
The New York City metropolitan area remained the centre of the American outbreak through April. Hospitals had expanded capacity, field hospitals had opened, and refrigerated trucks were used to store the bodies of the dead, an image that came to define that period for many people.
The debate over reopening
The record came at a time of intense debate over how long restrictions should last. Federal social-distancing guidelines were due to expire at the end of April. President Donald Trump had said the country might be near the peak and wanted to reopen the economy, but he called the choice of when to do so “the biggest decision I ever had to make.” On 16 April the White House published guidelines for reopening states in phases.
Government modelling at the time warned of the risks. According to Reuters reporting carried by The New York Times, a projection prepared for the Department of Homeland Security suggested that lifting stay-at-home orders too soon could lead to a sharp rise in cases and deaths over the summer. These were scenarios, not forecasts of what would definitely happen, but they showed why public health officials urged caution.
Economically, the shock was already enormous. About 22 million American jobs were lost in March and April 2020, and the unemployment rate reached 14.7 percent in April.
What came after April 2020
The 10 April record did not last long. The US went on to report much higher daily death counts during the winter of 2020–21, before vaccines became widely available. Cases passed one million on 28 April 2020, less than three weeks after the record day.
When the federal COVID-19 public health emergency ended on 11 May 2023, Johns Hopkins data put US deaths at more than 1.12 million, the highest total of any country in absolute numbers and about 341 deaths per 100,000 people. That rate was higher than in France or Germany. Deaths were also unevenly spread: analyses by KFF found that Indigenous, Hispanic and Black Americans died at markedly higher rates than white and Asian Americans.
How to read pandemic statistics
A few habits make daily figures easier to understand. Look at rolling seven-day averages rather than single days. Compare deaths per 100,000 people when looking at different countries. Remember that confirmed cases depend on how much testing is done, which in April 2020 was still very limited in the US, so the true number of infections was much higher than the official count.
Behind each number in that week’s reports were families who lost someone, and health workers who worked through exhausting shifts. If you have questions about COVID-19 vaccination or treatment today, talk to a doctor or your local health service, since advice has changed considerably since 2020.
Sources: AFP via Inquirer, 11 April 2020: US marks record 2,108 coronavirus deaths in 24 hours; Wikipedia: COVID-19 pandemic in the United States; Al Jazeera, 11 May 2023: Three years, 1.1 million deaths; photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid.
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