Confirmed Coronavirus Cases in the U.S. Hit 1 Million

The United States on Monday confirmed more than one million cases of the novel coronavirus, as several states—including Alaska, South Carolina, Georgia, and elsewhere—began the process of reopening businesses and easing social-distancing guidelines. As of Tuesday afternoon, at least 57,266 people in the U.S. had died from the infection, which has ravaged the world and flooded hospitals. Though in many parts of the country, rates of death and hospitalization are down, public-health experts, modelers, and epidemiologists have called for some states to wait much longer to open—or at least until there is plenty of accessible testing and contact-tracing to limit the possible resurgence of infections. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that some areas of his state—the hardest-hit in the U.S.—will engage in a phased reopening, beginning with construction and manufacturing activities at lower risk on May 15, but only once there has been a 14-day decline in hospitalizations.