U.S. faces 'really bad' week as coronavirus deaths spike

A man walks along an empty street as the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in New Orleans, Louisiana U.S., April 4, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

(Reuters) - The United States is entering what a senior official warned on Sunday would be the "hardest" week of the coronavirus crisis as the death toll mounted, but some saw glimmers of hope from a slight slowing of fatalities in hard-hit New York.

New York, the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, reported on Sunday that for the first time in a week, deaths had fallen slightly from the day before. But there were still nearly 600 new fatalities and more than 7,300 new cases in the state.