The U.S. is on its way to becoming the epicenter in coronavirus pandemic, WHO warns

The United States is on the path to becoming the world’s new epicenter in the coronavirus pandemic, the World Health Organization warned.

The warning comes as the US is experiencing a “very large acceleration” in cases, Margaret Harris, a spokesperson for WHO, said in a press conference Tuesday. In the past 24 hours, Europe and the US reported 85 percent of new cases, with 40 percent of them coming from the states, according to Reuters.

“We cannot say that is the case yet, but it does have that potential,” Harris said about the US becoming the pandemic’s epicenter.

After President Donald Trump said “America will, again, and soon, be open for business,” at a White House Press Briefing Monday, India, the second most populous country in the world, announced a nationwide lockdown in response to the growing number of cases in the country, according to the BBC.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a national lockdown Monday as well, the BBC said.

As of Tuesday, the US had the third-most cases of COVID-19 in the world at over 50,200, according to Johns Hopkins University. The US trails behind Italy and China, both of which imposed national lockdowns, according to CNBC.

The US is reporting 674 deaths related to coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University.

This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 4:36 PM with the headline "The U.S. is on its way to becoming the epicenter in coronavirus pandemic, WHO warns."