Global coronavirus cases top 1.5 million, according to Johns Hopkins

Why social distancing can save lives amid COVID-19 pandemic

Social distancing is not only about preventing the illness itself, but rather, slowing the rate at which people get sick.

On April 9, the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus across the world was above 1.5 million, according to data from Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center.

Data from the university had previously indicated that the number of confirmed cases had surpassed 1.5 million on Wednesday, April 8. Johns Hopkins later amended their data for the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in France.

In the United States, there were more than 432,000 confirmed cases, 14,000 deaths and 24,000 recoveries from the virus, according to the Johns Hopkins data. The U.S. has more confirmed cases than any other country.

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New York City remains the epicenter of the current U.S. coronavirus pandemic with more than 81,000 confirmed cases, according to Johns Hopkins data.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering changing its guidelines for self-isolation to make it easier for those who have been exposed to someone with the coronavirus to return to work if they are without symptoms.

The public health agency, in conjunction with the White House coronavirus task force, is considering an announcement as soon as Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence said.

Under the proposed guidance, people who are exposed to someone infected would be allowed back on the job if they have no symptoms, test their temperature twice a day and wear a face mask, said a person familiar with the proposal under consideration. The person was not authorized to publicly discuss the draft because it had not been finalized and described the proposal on the condition of anonymity.

The new policy is aimed in particular at workers in critical jobs. But it also comes as the Trump administration is eyeing what it calls a “stabilization” in infection rates and looks toward rolling back some of the restrictive social distancing guidelines and restarting the stalled economy.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, said Wednesday that even as death rates rise, the administration has been working on plans to eventually reopen the country amid "glimmers of hope” that social distancing is working to stop the virus' spread.

“If, in fact, we are successful, it makes sense to at least plan what a reentry into normality would look like," he said on Fox News Channel.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.