WASHINGTON, April 5 — President Donald Trump expressed hope yesterday that the United States was seeing a "levelling-off” of the coronavirus crisis in some of the nation's hot spots, saying Americans were starting to see "the light at the end of the tunnel.”

New York, the hardest-hit state, reported yesterday 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.

"Maybe that's a good sign,” Trump told reporters at a White House briefing, referring to the drop in fatalities in New York.

But a few governors still resisted issuing stay-at-home orders and a handful of churches held large Palm Sunday services.

Most states have ordered residents to stay home except for essential trips to slow the spread of the virus in the United States where over 335,000 people have tested positive and over 9,500 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

"We're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” Trump said. But he added: "You can never be happy when so many people are dying.”

Trump also said the United States was "very far down the line” on developing vaccines for the coronavirus. "We'll see what happens,” he said. — Reuters