U.S. now has 1 million coronavirus cases

The U.S. now has 1 million patients who have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with many more unreported or undetected people infected.

U.S. deaths from the respiratory virus passed 57,000 on Tuesday, equal to the upper end of estimated flu deaths for the 2019-2020 flu season, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The true death rate of COVID-19 is still unclear because of a lack of widespread testing, but current numbers suggest a rate much higher than the flu, which infects between 9 million and 45 million people in the U.S. each year, the CDC estimates.

Vice President Mike Pence celebrated the milestone today by refusing to wear a mask while touring the Mayo Clinic. Read the rest