OVER 10,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and over 130 deaths were reported in a single day in the US.
Now, the total number of patients and fatalities rise to 43,734 and 550 respectively by Monday (23) night.
The US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order to prevent hoarding of vital medical supplies and personal protective equipment.
He warned that his government would take action against hoarding and excessive pricing of vital medical and personal protective equipment as well as supplies such as hand sanitisers and face masks.
"Very simply, we will not allow anyone to exploit the suffering of American citizens for their own profit," he asserted, warning that the Justice Department will aggressively prosecute fraudulent schemes related to the pandemic.
New York State, in particular New York City, emerged as the hotspot of one of the worst public health crisis in the US in recent history.
Nearly one in every two Americans infected by novel coronavirus are from New York City which reported 5,085 news cases on Monday taking the total to 20,875.
As many as 157 residents of New York, a city which has one of the highest concentrations of people in the country, have died of coronavirus so far.
Of the total deaths in the city so far, 43 were reported on Monday. Health officials warned that COVID-19-related casualty figures in New York are expected to jump significantly in the coming days.
President Trump said that New York along with other hotspots such as Washington State and California is the top priority for his administration.
He also announced that clinical trials for existing drugs that may prove effective against the virus will begin in New York.
"The federal government is working to help obtain large quantities of chloroquine. It will be a big game-changer. So, we will see distribution starting on Tuesday in New York. I think a lot of people are going to be hopefully very happy with the results. We all will be watching it closely," Trump said.
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