New Orleans emerges as next coronavirus epicentre, threatening rest of South

Boarded up businesses are pictured on Frenchmen Street, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., March 25, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Bachma

(Reuters) - New Orleans is on track to become the next coronavirus epicentre in the United States, dimming hopes that less densely populated and warmer-climate cities would escape the worst of the pandemic, and that summer months could see it wane.

The plight of New Orleans - with the world's highest growth rate in coronavirus cases - also raises fears that the city may become a powerful catalyst in spreading the virus across the south of the country. Authorities have warned the number of cases in New Orleans could overwhelm its hospitals by April 4.