The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus has now topped more than 1 million in the United States alone, according to a database kept by Johns Hopkins University.
The number of U.S. cases has doubled in the past 18 days. Johns Hopkins reported on April 10 that the 500,000th confirmed coronavirus case has been recorded.
Since February, more than 57,000 Americans have died as a result of COVID-19. That's nearly as many as those that died in the Vietnam War, which claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Americans over about 20 years.
The New York City area remains the hardest hit by the coronavirus. Confirmed cases in the city itself total more than 160,000, and the total confirmed cases in the states of New Yor (291,000) and New Jersey (111,000) account for nearly half the U.S. total.
Massachusetts is the only other state with more than 50,000 confirmed cases of the virus, with more than 56,000.
The Detroit area remains one of the hardest-hit per capita, as Wayne and Oakland Counties in Michigan have combined for more than 20,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
U.S. cases account for nearly one-third of all confirmed cases of the virus worldwide. Johns Hopkins reported Monday that 3 million cases had been recorded around the world.
The true number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. is likely much higher.
Though the U.S. has conducted nearly 5.6 million tests for the virus — more than any other country in the world — 1.3 million of those tests have been conducted in the states of California and New York alone. Many areas of the country continue to struggle to test patients for the virus adequately.
The new figures come as many states begin easing lockdowns, allowing some non-essential businesses to reopen.
