US deaths from the novel coronavirus have topped 75,000, according to a Reuters tally, after the White House shelved a step-by-step guide prepared by health officials to help states safely reopen.

Deaths in the United States, the epicentre of the pandemic, have averaged 2,000 a day since mid-April despite efforts to slow the outbreak.

The death toll is higher than any fatalities from the seasonal flu going back to 1967 and represents more US deaths than during the first 10 years of the AIDS epidemic, from 1981 to 1991.