US reaches 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases

The confirmed number of coronavirus cases in the US reaches 5 million, by far the highest in the world, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.

However, health officials believe that for every reported case, there are roughly 10 times as many people infected, given the limits on testing and the large number of mild infections that have unreported or unrecognized.

The bleak milestone is reached as new cases in the US run at about 54,000 a day. While that is down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing.

— AP