For the first time, coronavirus was the No. 1 leading cause of death in the United States on Tuesday.

White House projections and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show the virus now leads heart disease and cancer as the leading cause of death in the country.

AssistedLivingFacilities.org launched a study and daily tracker of COVID-19 deaths, comparing the virus-related deaths with other diseases. The numbers look at daily COVID-19 deaths and daily averages provided by the CDC.

From March 1 to April 7, COVID-19 was the seventh leading cause of death in America behind heart disease, cancer, accidents, bronchitis, stroke and Alzheimer’s.  It has surpassed diabetes and influenza.

On Tuesday, 1,941 COVID-19 related deaths were reported, surpassing the daily averages for heart disease (1,774 deaths) and cancer (1,641 deaths).

COVID-19 is expected to be in the Top 10 of 2020 Projected Leading Causes of Death — killing more than the seasonal flu.

2020 Projected Leading Causes of Death

1. Heart disease: 647,457
2. Cancer: 599,108
3. COVID-19 upper estimate from the White House (Updated: March 31): 240,000
4. Accidents: 169,936
5. Bronchitis, emphysema, asthma (CLRD): 160,201
6. Stroke: 146,383
7. Alzheimer’s disease: 121,404
8. COVID-19 lower estimate from the White House (Updated: March 31): 100,000
9. Diabetes: 83,564
10. Influenza: 55,672

Deadliest events in U.S. history: 

1. Civil War: 750,000 deaths (1861-1865)
2. HIV/AIDS: 700,000 (1981 to present)
3. H1N1 / Spanish Flu: 675,000 (1918)
4. World War II: 405,000 (1941-1945)
5. COVID-19: 240,000 (Upper White House estimate from March 31)
6. Yellow fever: 125,000 (1600s-early 1900s)
7. H2N2 / Asian flu: 116,000 (1957-1958)
8. World War I: 116,000 (1917-1918)
9. H3N2 / Avian flu: 100,000 (1968)
10. COVID-19: 100,000 (Lower White House estimate from March 31)

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