Coronavirus is now the leading cause of death in America killing more on average each day than cancer or heart disease, doctor says

Coronavirus is now the leading cause of death in America killing more on average each day than cancer or heart disease, a doctor has claimed. 

Dr Maria Danilychev, who practices practices hospice/palliative medicine in San Diego, has published a chart showing how Covid-19 has risen to become the leading cause of death in the US at 1,970 deaths per day. 

Dr Danilychev claims this supersedes the 1,774 deaths per day caused by heart disease, and 1,641 per day from cancer. 

She used data from Worldmeters.info - a statistics and data website - and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to create her graph.

Her findings overtake a graph she published last week, which put coronavirus just below heart disease and cancer, but above chronic lung disease, Alzheimer's, diabetes, stroke, kidney disease - and even the seasonal flu.

The graph features a time-lapse and shows how coronavirus deaths have risen in the US at an alarming rate. 

Before March 20, the virus had the lowest number of daily deaths compared to other causes listed, on average about 50 per day. 

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That number has steadily climbed. On March 22, the virus's daily death rate began to surge, passing flu and pneumonia, kidney disease, suicide, and liver disease. 

The death toll in the U.S has continued to dramatically rise in recent weeks. 

Dr Maria Danilychev (pictured), who practices practices hospice/palliative medicine in San Diego, has published a chart showing how Covid-19 has risen to become the leading cause of death in the US at 1,970 deaths per day

The US hit a death toll of 16,715 Thursday evening, a jump of nearly 2,000 fatalities of the deadly virus over the past 24 hours. 

The country saw an increase in 33,381 infections mounting to 469,450 reported cases as of Thursday.

The death toll has continued to skyrocket with 1,842 deaths over the past 24 hours.

New York, which holds the largest number of COVID-19 cases and fatalities in the states, has become the coronavirus epicenter of the world.

On Thursday New York reported a surge in 10,000 cases over the past 24 hours, mounting to 159,937 cases in the state. The death toll in New York state sits at 7,067 deaths following a rise in 799 fatalities.

The Big Apple is reporting the most cases in the state with 87,028 cases and 5,150 deaths.

In comparison, Spain has recorded over 153,000 cases and 15,000 deaths and Italy with 143,000 cases and over 18,000 deaths.

China, where the virus first broke out late last year, has reported over 83,000 COVID-19 infections and 3,300 fatalities.

New York state observed a record-breaking increase in coronavirus deaths for a third consecutive day on Thursday, even as a surge of patients in overwhelmed hospitals slowed.

Governor Andrew Cuomo described the death count - which increased by 799 in 24 hours - as a lagging indicator reflecting the loss of people sickened earlier in the outbreak.

The snapshot of hospitalizations showed a less dire picture.

Cuomo said the net 200-patient increase in hospitalizations 'is the lowest number we've had since this nightmare started', compared with daily increases of more than 1,000 last week.

Intensive care admissions also were down in the state as more than 18,200 people were hospitalized.

Over two-thirds of the state's deaths are in New York City alone, where fears are growing that the real death toll has been significantly miscounted and that a dramatic spike in New Yorkers dying in their homes is also linked to coronavirus.