GRIM MILESTONE

United States Soars Past 4 Million Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

Cases are surging in the country’s largest and most populous states: California, Texas, and Florida.

The United States is home to more than 4 million confirmed coronavirus cases as of Thursday, far and away the most of any country in the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. reached the grim milestone of 4,021,053 cases and 143,967 deaths as the virus surges in California, now the state with the most cases, as well as in Texas and Florida, which allowed for businesses to reopen earlier than others. Case numbers in New York remain high. Testing still lags behind what public health experts say will be necessary to contain the virus. The tally may underestimate the full amount of infections, as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that the real number of infected may be multiples higher than the confirmed count.