US Death Toll From CCP Virus Surpasses 100,000: Researchers

People wait to cross the street on Rodeo Drive, where a sign is displayed asking the pedestrian not to push the button, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Beverly Hills, Calif., May 26, 2020. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)

Several rolling tallies that collect data on the CCP virus pandemic show that the United States’ death toll from the virus has surpassed 100,000 people for the first time.

Data from Johns Hopkins University and The Associated Press on Thursday morning both showed the death toll surpassing 100,000, with Johns Hopkins reporting that more than 100,400 have died. Around 1.7 million people have been infected with the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged in mainland China last year.

President Donald Trump reacted to the development on Thursday, writing the U.S. has “just reached a very sad milestone with the coronavirus pandemic deaths reaching 100,000.”

“To all of the families & friends of those who have passed, I want to extend my heartfelt sympathy & love for everything that these great people stood for & represent. God be with you!” he wrote.

The first case of the CCP virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, emerged on Jan. 20 in Washington state, confirmed as a person who had traveled into the U.S. from mainland China.

New York Stock Exchange employees wait to enter the building as the trading floor partially reopens, N.Y., on May 26, 2020. (Mark Lennihan/AP Photo)

The hardest-hit state, so far, has been New York, which has seen more than 23,600 deaths, according to Gov. Andrew Cuomo in an update.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. expert on infectious diseases, issued a warning during a Wednesday morning interview. It came after videos and footage showed mass gatherings in various places such as beaches or parks during Memorial Day weekend.

“We have a situation in which you see that type of crowding with no mask and people interacting. That’s not prudent, and that’s inviting a situation that could get out of control,” he told CNN. “Don’t start leapfrogging some of the recommendations in the guidelines because that’s really tempting fate and asking for trouble.”

While the U.S. death toll is among the highest in the world, Johns Hopkins University’s data shows that the country is 10th on the per-capita rates of COVID-19 deaths, coming behind places such as Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Belgium, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Ireland.

China’s Count

China is not included in the list because since the virus first spread, conflicting numbers reported by Chinese authorities have confounded international researchers and Chinese citizens. Internal government data obtained by The Epoch Times have also revealed that local authorities routinely underreport infections.

Authorities’ lack of transparency about the outbreak has made it difficult to understand the true scale of the epidemic in China.

“It sounds like the virus follows their orders,” Ge Bidong, a California-based political commentator, told NTD, an Epoch Times affiliate. “There’s such a large gap between its data and infection as well as death numbers around the world over the past three months.” He noted that even death tolls in smaller countries have overtaken China’s. “So how can you believe them?”

Eva Fu contributed to this report.