Coronavirus worst crisis since WWII, UN chief says; Italian doctors warn of ‘biological bombs'

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The global death toll from the coronavirus pandemic continued to worsen Wednesday despite unprecedented lockdowns, as the head of the United Nations sounded the alarm on what he said was humanity's worst crisis since World War II.

The warning came as President Donald Trump told Americans to brace for a “very painful” few weeks after the United States registered its deadliest 24 hours of the crisis.

Around half of the planet's population is under some form of lockdown as governments struggle to halt the spread of a disease that has now infected more than 840,000 people.

Well over 40,000 are known to have died, half of them in Italy and Spain, but the death toll continues to rise with new records being logged daily in the US.

“This is going to be a very painful -- a very, very painful -- two weeks,” Trump said, describing the pandemic as “a plague.”

“I want every American to be prepared for the hard days that lie ahead.”

America's outbreak has mushroomed rapidly. There are now around 190,000 known cases – a figure that has doubled in just five days.

On Tuesday, a record 865 people died, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, taking the national toll so far to more than 4,000.

Members of Trump's coronavirus task force said the country should be ready for between 100,000 and 240,000 deaths in the coming months.

“As sobering a number as that is, we should be prepared for it,” Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert.

America's under-pressure health system is being supplemented by field hospitals sprouting up all over New York, including a tented camp in Central Park, a hospital ship and converted convention centres.

But even with the extended capacity, doctors say they are still having to make painful choices.