Coronavirus cases rocketed to more than 300,000 Saturday, with deaths rising to nearly 13,000 as leaders around the world urged their citizens to stay home to slow the spread of the pandemic.
The spike comes the same day that Italy’s death toll surged by 793 in a single 24-hour period, two days after the country had surpassed China in coronavirus deaths.
At more than 81,000 registered cases, China still tops the list, followed by Italy with 53,578 cases of the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center.
US cases spiraled by 4,759 for a total of 24,162 with much of the jump stemming from a rapid increase in testing for Covid-19 across the country. New York state registered more than 11,600 cases with more than half of those in New York City.
Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that he will be tested after a member of his staff tested positive.
