(CNN)
More than 20,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the United States, which now has more reported deaths than any country in the world, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University.
The US death toll on Saturday surpassed that of Italy, which is reporting 19,468 deaths, per Johns Hopkins.
At least 2,074 deaths were reported in the US on Friday,
the largest increase in coronavirus fatalities the country has seen since the beginning of the outbreak. At least 519,453 people have tested positive for the virus, according to Johns Hopkins.
Of the deaths reported Friday, 783 occurred in New York state, bringing the statewide death toll to 8,627, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday. That was a slight drop from the state's all-time high in single-day fatalities, which occurred Wednesday with 799 deaths. There were 777 deaths Thursday.
Deciding when to re-open the US
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Saturday that schools there would remain closed through the end of the school year while students continued to receive remote instruction.
But that was soon
undercut by Gov. Cuomo, who said that "no decision" had been made on closing schools through the end of the year, adding he valued the mayor's "opinion."
"We may do that, but we're going to do it in a coordinated sense with the other localities," Cuomo said, adding: "It makes no sense for one locality to take an action that's not coordinated with the others."
Risk of rebound in cases in July
Multiple state leaders said social distancing measures are having an effect.
Hospitalizations in Connecticut are dropping. Arkansas also saw the lowest number of hospitalizations compared to neighboring states. The number of affected people in Ohio is lower than previously projected. And in California, hospitals saw a nearly 2% drop in ICU patients.
In New Jersey cases climbed to 58,151, Gov. Phil Murphy said Saturday. But while that number is "scary," the state is "beginning to beat this virus back," he said.
Government projections obtained by The New York Times show coronavirus infections and deaths could dramatically increase if social distancing and other measures were lifted after 30 days.
If stay-at-home orders were lifted after a month, the government report says, there would be a bump in the demand for ventilators and the US death toll could reach 200,000, the Times reported.
edition.cnn.com
