U.S. coronavirus death toll rises past 3,000 on deadliest day

An empty Park Avenue is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in New York City, U.S., March 29, 2020. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus pandemic climbed past 3,000 on Monday, the deadliest day yet in the country's mounting crisis, while New York cheered the arrival of a gleaming 1,000-bed U.S. Navy hospital ship as a sign of hope in the city's desperate fight.

In a grim new milestones marking the spread of the virus, total deaths across the United States hit 3,017, including at least 540 on Monday, and the reported cases climbed to more than 163,000, according to a Reuters tally.