US death toll closes in on Italy’s as Europe guards against Easter travel

Confirmed infections worldwide rose above 1.7 million, with more than 100,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The US death toll from coronavirus briefly overtook Italy’s for the highest in the world on Saturday, according to a running tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

The US eclipsed Italy in reporting more than 18,850 dead at around noon, but a short time later Italy reported a total of nearly 19,500.