Coronavirus USA Update: US Death Toll Hits 4,759; US Strategic National Stockpile Nearly Empty

Driven by its unrelenting rise in the United States, confirmed worldwide cases of COVID-19 will exceed one million this week while deaths will move past 50,000.

There were 932,554 confirmed cases worldwide, as of 22:41 GMT Wednesday compared to 854,610 as of 22:58 GMT Tuesday, according to Worldometer. The increase from Tuesday to Wednesday is a massive 77,944 confirmed cases. On Wednesday there were 46,837 worldwide deaths compared to 42,043 Tuesday, an increase of 4,794 deaths.

On Wednesday, there were also 212,980 confirmed cases in the U.S. based on Worldometer data compared to 186,046 Tuesday. The one-day increase is 26,934 cases. There were 4,759 deaths Wednesday, an increase of 952 deaths from the day before. The U.S. on Wednesday accounted for 23% of total world confirmed cases Wednesday and 10% of total deaths.

Doctors are now grappling with the real-world implications of an admission Wednesday by Trump the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) is nearly depleted. Asked if the SNS is close to being exhausted, Trump told reporters, “It is. We are sending it directly to hospitals.”

He again said the federal government wants supplies directly shipped where they're needed, rather than stockpiling them in a warehouse.

“We don't want it to come to the stockpiles because then we have to take it after it arrives and bring it to various states and hospitals,” according to Trump. “We have asked states where they have large manufacturers of different types of equipment to use those local factories, local plants and have it made directly, ship it right into the hospitals."

Other federal sources confirmed Trump's statement, saying SNS is now deploying the last round of shipments in its inventory. Most of the SNS’ inventory of PPEs is gone. One official told CNN said SNS was never meant to serve as the only source of PPE for the entire COVID-19 response. States will now need to source their medical supplies from the private market.

New York State and New York City are still the worst hit by the pandemic. The city's website listed 45,707 cases and 1,374 deaths. On the other hand, New York State has 83,712 coronavirus cases and 1,941 deaths, according to CNN.

Aid for both the state and the city has come from an unexpected source: Russia. A massive Russian cargo plane on Wednesday offloaded medical supplies at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York. The arrival of the supplies was confirmed by Russian mission to the United Nations.

The mission tweeted the supplies will “help local communities and hospitals in their crucial action against the spread of #coronanvirus.” The shipment consists of badly needed personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, ventilators, and antiseptics. And why is Russia being helpful?

The Russian embassy in Washington DC said president Vladimir Putin provided the assistance with the expectation the U.S. will reciprocate and share supplies with Russia if the need for this arises.

It tweeted: "Importantly, when offering assistance to the American colleagues, President Putin is guided by the following consideration: when manufacturers of medical equipment gain momentum they will be able to reciprocate if need be."