Headlines for March 31, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the globe with nearly 38,000 known deaths and close to 800,000 confirmed cases. In the U.S., the death toll has topped 3,100, meaning more Americans have now died from COVID-19 than from the 9/11 terror attacks. Nearly 520 of those deaths were reported Monday — the highest number in a single day so far.

Three-quarters of American residents are now under stay-at home-orders, as people in at least 31 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have been told by officials to stay home except for necessities or if they provide essential services. Some states have resisted such moves, though, including Missouri, where Governor Mike Parson has denied pleas from across the state’s medical community to issue a stay-at-home order, even as the state’s coronavirus cases recently topped 1,000. Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C., enacted their own shelter-in-place orders Monday, with D.C. and Maryland residents subject to hefty fines and even imprisonment for violating the strict measures.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and a member of President Trump’s coronavirus task force, said Monday another coronavirus outbreak in the fall is likely, but that the nation would be better equipped to handle it.