In Pictures

In Pictures: New York, the coronavirus epicentre in the US

Field hospital in Central Park and US Navy ship Comfort in Hudson River give wartime feel to city’s coronavirus crisis.

The USNS Comfort passes the Statue of Liberty as it enters New York Harbor during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, U.S., March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX — US Navy hospital ship Comfort passes the Statue of Liberty as it enters New York Harbor. The ship arrived with 1,000 beds to relieve pressure on overwhelmed hospitals. [Mike Segar/Reuters]

The mounting death toll from the virus outbreak in the United States had it poised on Tuesday to overtake China’s grim toll of 3,300 deaths.

The US has the most confirmed cases in the world, a number that is likely to soar when tests for the virus become more widespread.

In New York City, Governor Andrew Cuomo and health officials warned on Monday that the crisis unfolding there is just a preview of what other US communities could soon face.

New York State’s death toll climbed by more than 250 people in a day on Monday to more than 1,200, most of them in the city.

Hospitals in New York City have been overrun with patients suffering from COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the virus. Officials have appealed for volunteer healthcare workers.

People in New York and New Jersey lined both sides of the Hudson River to cheer the US Navy hospital ship, Comfort, a converted oil tanker painted white with giant red crosses, as it sailed past the Statue of Liberty accompanied by support ships and helicopters.

To ease the pressure in New York, construction of a 68-bed field hospital began on Sunday in Manhattan’s Central Park. The white tents being set up evoked a wartime feel in an island of green typically used by New Yorkers to exercise, picnic and enjoy the first signs of spring.

The makeshift facility, provided by the Mount Sinai Health System and non-profit organisation Samaritan’s Purse, is expected to begin accepting patients on Tuesday, New York Major Bill de Blasio said.

An empty Broadway Theatre district is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon — The Broadway theatre district has emptied. So far 930 members of the New York Police Department have tested positive for the disease. [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

An empty Madison Avenue is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY — Most Americans remain under state or local government orders to stay at home to slow the spread of the virus. [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

People wait in line to be tested for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) while wearing protective gear, outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in the Queens borough of New York City, U.S., March 30, 2020. REUTER — People wait in line to be tested for the coronavirus outside Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens. [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

A healthcare worker sits on a bench near Central park in the Manhattan borough of New York City, U.S., March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon — A healthcare worker sits on a bench near Central Park, Manhattan. [Jeenah Moon/Reuters]

A man wearing a facial mask walks across the middle of 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan of New York, Sunday, March 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) — A man wearing a facial mask walks across 5th Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. Americans are now being asked to prepare for at least another 30 days of severe economic and social disruption. [Mary Altaffer/AP Photo]

epaselect epa08329088 People line up to receive a free meal from the Bowery Mission soup kitchen and shelter in New York, New York, USA, on 28 March 2020. The shelter typically serves 250 meal each a — People line up to receive free meals from the Bowery Mission soup kitchen and shelter. The shelter typically serves 250 meals each day, but recently at least 400 people have been showing up for food daily, as more people deal with the economic impacts of the coronavirus-related shutdown of all non-essential businesses. [Justin Lane/EPA]

epa08330962 Field tents are erected as a makeshift hospital in the East Meadow of Central Park by the disaster relief organization Samaritan''s Purse in New York, USA, 29 March 2020. New York City is n — Field tents are erected as a makeshift hospital in the East Meadow of Central Park by the disaster relief organisation, Samaritan's Purse. New York City is the epicentre of the coronavirus in the US. [Peter Foley/EPA]

epa08332979 Two bodies on hospital gurneys are staged to be stored in a mobile morgue, put in place due to lack of space at the hospital, outside of the Brooklyn Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York, — Two bodies on hospital trolleys are prepared for storage in a mobile morgue, put in place due to a lack of space at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. [Justin Lane/EPA]

epa08333051 Medical professionals and hospital employees transfer a body on a hospital gurney into temporary storage in a mobile morgue, being used due to lack of space at the hospital, outside of the — Medical professionals and hospital employees transfer a body into temporary storage in a mobile morgue at the Brooklyn Hospital Center. Most of the state’s deaths have occurred in the past 10 days. [Justin Lane/EPA]

epa08333072 A doctor stands with a stack of gloves and masks donated by the area Chinese community outside of the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, New York, USA, 30 March 2020. New York City is sti — A doctor stands with a stack of gloves and masks donated by the Chinese community outside the Elmhurst Hospital Center in Queens, New York. [Justin Lane/EPA]