US hits 2 MILLION Covid-19 cases – Reuters

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases across the US has topped two million, according to a tally maintained by Reuters. The country is by far the worst-affected in the world in terms of Covid-19 cases.

The US has reported an average of 21,000 new cases daily in June, down from 23,000-a-day in May, though the country continues to test large numbers of people.

Over 112,000 people there have died with the virus, significantly more than in any other country.

The growth in cases is being linked to some states gradually easing the lockdown restrictions that have kept most of the country at home over the last three months, forcing businesses to close nationwide and leading to massive job losses. Unemployment soared to levels not seen since the Great Depression.

While many states still have restrictions in place on businesses reopening, hundreds of thousands of people have defied social distancing and other virus-related precautions in recent weeks to participate in the massive nationwide protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd on Memorial Day.

Some health experts have expressed concern that the protests will lead to a spike in cases, though others have insisted racism is much more detrimental to American public health than the virus.

The World Health Organization has urged caution for governments looking to end their lockdowns, suggesting the rate of positive tests should remain at or below five percent for at least two weeks, but many states have set and followed their own benchmarks for reopening.

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