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Latest coronavirus figures in US.: 1.5 million confirmed cases, 90,000 deaths

Posted at 7:12 AM, May 19, 2020
and last updated 2020-05-19 09:33:23-04

Confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in the United States now total more than 1.5 million, according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins.

As of Tuesday morning, the database reports 1.5 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. More than 90,000 people have died in connection with the disease. Health experts agree that due to limited testing capabilities, both of those figures are likely under-reported.

The U.S. continues to lead the world in the number of confirmed cases and in deaths linked to the disease. Worldwide, there are 4.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, and more than 300,000 deaths linked to the disease.

The virus was first detected by scientists in China in December.

While the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington reports that the number of confirmed cases of the virus is increasing by about 22,000 daily, that figure has steadily decreased in recent weeks. There were about 32,000 new cases of the virus reported each day at its peak in early April.

Daily reported deaths have also steadily decreased since early April, according to the IHME. The model currently projects that there will be 140,000 deaths linked to the virus by August.

The new figures come as a vast majority of states have lifted at least some restrictions linked to the coronavirus lockdowns in recent weeks. Health experts warn that further spikes in cases and deaths could be possible if proper social distancing precautions are not taken.