United States coronavirus deaths surpass 130,000

US coronavirus deaths topped 130,000 on Monday amid a surge in Covid-19 cases that has put President Donald Trump's handling of the crisis under the microscope and derailed efforts to restart the economy.

The overall rate of increase in US deaths has continued to trend downward despite case numbers surging to record levels in recent days, but health experts warn that fatalities are a lagging indicator, showing up weeks or even months after cases rise.

At least five states have already bucked the downward trend in the death rate, according to a Reuters analysis. Arizona had 449 deaths in the last two weeks of June, up from 259 deaths in the first two weeks of the month. The state posted a 300% rise in cases over the full month, the most in the country.

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Nationally, cases are approaching 3 million, the highest tally in the world and double the infections reported in the second most-affected nation Brazil.

Sixteen states have posted record daily increases in new cases since the start of July including Florida, which confirmed more than 11,000 in a single day. As well as the state's largest one-day spike so far, that was more than any European country reported in a single day at the height of the crisis there.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has forecast between 140,000 to 160,000 coronavirus deaths by July 25 in projections that are based on 24 independent forecasts. The forecast projects a rise in deaths in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, according to the CDC website.