Confirmed coronavirus cases in the US have now surpassed 1 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The US surpassed China in March for the most confirmed cases of coronavirus than any other country.
The death toll has reached 56,749 nationwide, also a global high.
One million coronavirus cases in the US is indeed a grim milestone, a number as round and neat as it is devastating.
The reality, however, is that the mark was certainly hit weeks ago, as many cases have gone undiagnosed – the disease silently spreading through communities across the nation.
Only a few months ago, the pandemic seemed like a distant news story for most Americans – a problem for China, then Italy. There had been pandemic warnings before, but they had always passed with little impact on everyday life. Why would this time be different?
But it was different. The virus spread from a handful of documented US cases in January, to thousands, to hundreds of thousands, and now a million – one-third of all the cases in entire world, with a death count now above 50,000.
While the nationwide lockdown appears to have helped slow the spread of the virus and avoid the most dire casualty predictions, Tuesday’s milestone is still an indictment of US government’s failed attempts to prevent a full-blown health – and economic – crisis.
It is also a warning that despite calls to ease state-imposed restrictions and reopen businesses, the virus continues to pose a serious threat throughout the US.
