California suffers spike in coronavirus infections

California on Wednesday became hardest-hit U.S. state by the coronavirus disease after tally showed over 400,000 cases.

According to data compiled by John Hopkins University, no fewer than 409,000 confirmed cases were recorded in the state as of Wednesday morning.

This is 1,000 cases higher than those of New York, the former national epicentre, which had no fewer than 408,000 infections since the outbreak of the virus.

The U.S. is the worst-affected country, with no fewer than 3.9 million confirmed cases and 142,090 fatalities.

For the first time on Tuesday, President Donald Trump acknowledged the severity of the pandemic, warning that it “will probably get worse before it gets better”.

“It is something I don’t like saying about things, but that’s the way it is,” Trump said at a White House news briefing.

He canvassed the use of masks, especially by young people, where physical distancing is impossible.