U.S. reaches 2 million COVID-19 cases

The U.S. has logged more than 2 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 - more than two and-a-half times the number in Brazil, the nation with the world's second highest number of cases.

The U.S. reached this milestone Wednesday night with more new cases being reported in at least 20 states. Total U.S. fatalities have climbed above 113,000.

It has been less than five months since U.S. health officials confirmed this country's first case in Washington state.

Texas, Arkansas, South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, North Carolina, Oregon, Florida and Utah all set new 7-day highs in average number of cases, according to the Washington Post.

While Montana, Arkansas, Utah, Arizona and Texas have all seen hospitalizations surge by at least 35% since Memorial Day.

Arizona currently has the highest rate of infections per capita in the U.S., averaging more than 1,000 new cases a day this week.

It has left the state with a dwindling number of available beds in hospital intensive care units. Arizona health officials say only a quarter remain unoccupied.

Florida is another state experiencing a surge, reporting more than 1,000 new cases a day since June 2.

On Saturday, more people tested positive for the virus than any day in the past two months, according to NPR.

States with a lower number of overall cases are also seeing a big jump in new cases. New infections in Oregon, South Carolina and Alaska have risen more than 100% in the last two weeks.

It is raising concerns that easing social-distancing policies is responsible. In May, all 50 U.S. states began lifting stay-at-home restrictions. Many states have continued their scheduled re-openings after seeing the spike in new cases.

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