Cases bubble up in more of U.S.

New Orleans rushed to build a makeshift hospital in its convention center Friday as troubling new outbreaks bubbled in the U.S., deaths surged in Italy and Spain, and the world warily trudged through the pandemic that has sickened more than a half-million people.

Punctuating the fact that no one is immune to COVID19, it pierced even the highest echelons of global power, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson becoming the first leader of a major country to test positive.

While New York remained the worst-hit city in the U.S., Americans braced for worsening conditions elsewhere, with worrisome infection numbers reported in New Orleans, Chicago and Detroit.

“We are not through this. We’re not even halfway through this,” said Joseph Kanter of the Louisiana Department of Health, which has recorded more than 2,700 cases — more than five times what it had a week ago.

The United States became the first country to surpass 100,000 infections Friday, according to a count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

New Orleans’ sprawling Ernest N. Morial Convention Center was being converted into a massive hospital as officials prepared for thousands more patients than they could accommodate. The preparations immediately conjured images of another disaster, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the convention center became a shelter of last resort in a city that has braved a string of storm hits, not to mention great fires and a yellow fever epidemic in centuries past.

In New York, where there are more than 44,000 cases statewide, the number of people hospitalized with COVID19 passed 6,000 on Friday — double what it had been three days earlier.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for 4,000 more temporary beds across New York City, where the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center has already been converted into a hospital.

“This is going to be weeks and weeks and weeks,” Mr. Cuomo told members of the National Guard working at the Javits Center. “This is going to be a long day, and it’s going to be a hard day, and it’s going to be an ugly day, and it’s going to be a sad day.”

More than 590,000 people have contracted the virus around the world, and roughly 26,000 have died. While the U.S. now leads the world in infections, five countries exceed its more than 1,500 deaths: Italy, Spain, China, Iran and France.

Dr. John Brooks, of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that Americans remain “in the acceleration phase” of the pandemic and that all corners of the country are at risk.

“There is no geographic part of the United States that is spared from this,” he said.

On Friday, Chinese leader Xi Jinping told Mr. Trump that China “stands ready to provide support within its capacity,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly referred to the outbreak as a “Chinese virus,” struck a different tone Friday, tweeting after the call that “China has been through much & has developed a strong understanding of the Virus. We are working closely together. Much respect!”

In Europe, Italy recorded its single biggest 24-hour rise in deaths, with 969 more victims, to bring its total number of fatalities to 9,134. The country now has more than 86,000 cases, surpassing China to record the grim distinction of the second-most infections in the world, behind the U.S.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella called it “a sad page in our history.”

Italian epidemiologists warn that the country’s number of cases is likely much higher than reported — perhaps by five times — although two weeks into a nationwide lockdown the daily increase seems to be slowing, at least in northern Italy.

Spain, with the world’s fourth-biggest number of cases, reported another 7,800 infections for a total of more than 64,000. The country said health workers accounted for about 15% of its cases.

Deaths in Spain climbed past 4,900 — the world’s second-highest total after Italy.

In Britain, Mr. Johnson’s office said the prime minister was tested after showing mild symptoms for COVID19. He was self-isolating and continuing to lead Britain’s response to the pandemic.

“Be in no doubt that I can continue, thanks to the wizardry of modern technology, to communicate with all my top team, to lead the national fightback against coronavirus,” Mr. Johnson said in a video message, adding that he had a temperature and persistent cough.

Several weeks ago, Mr. Johnson had pledged he would “go on shaking hands with everybody.”

British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who has been at the forefront of the nation’s virus response, also was confirmed to be infected. Prince Charles previously said he tested positive.