US adds 46,321 COVID-19 cases in 24 hours
The United States added 46,321 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours Monday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
The world's largest economy also added 532 deaths, the Baltimore-based institution's tracker showed at 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Tuesday).
The US has now recorded 4,711,323 total cases, with 155,366 deaths, making it by far the worst-hit country in the world.
Monday was the second day to notch a slightly lower caseload, after a string of five days last week had all recorded more than 60,000 new daily infections.
President Donald Trump said during a coronavirus press briefing Monday that the virus was "receding" in parts of the southern and western United States, deeming the situation "very encouraging."
But the day before, White House coronavirus advisor Deborah Birx had warned that the country was entering a "new phase" of the pandemic, with rural areas just as threatened as major cities.
"It is extraordinarily widespread," she told CNN on Sunday.
"To everybody who lives in a rural area, you are not immune or protected from this virus."
More than 18 million people worldwide have been infected with COVID-19 since the disease first appeared in China late last year. Around 680,000 have died.
© 2020 AFP
