COVID-19: Over one million cases confirmed in the U.S.

World Today

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The U.S. has passed a grim milestone: more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19.

But there are some signs social-distancing measures may have “flattened the curve” – there are no longer exponential increases in new cases, hospitalizations or deaths in large population centers.

“But we’re still by no stretch of the imagination out of the woods there. It’s just stable. We’re not seeing substantial declines,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said.

Meanwhile, President Trump has consistently sounded more optimistic than his medical advisers. He thought the pandemic would go away soon. 

But a vaccine is months away at best, and there is still no known effective treatment.

The virus has gutted the U.S. economy: unemployment up by record numbers and GDP down by levels not seen since the financial crisis of 2008. Experts say a full economic recovery is closely tied to stopping the virus.

Public health officials warn that reopening too quickly, or without appropriate safeguards in place, could lead to a second wave of infections.