U.S. now has 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, doubling the total in just days

More than 200,000 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the United States, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. crossed the benchmark Wednesday afternoon, with more than 203,000 cases reported.

Just last Friday, the U.S. became the first country in the world to pass 100,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, McClatchy News reported. A day earlier, the country became the epicenter for COVID-19 by passing China and Italy for the most cases.

The coronavirus surge in the U.S. has been dramatic. Two weeks ago there were 6,300 confirmed cases and 108 deaths. And at the beginning of March, the U.S. had just 100 confirmed cases, according to CNN.

The number of confirmed cases increased by more than 50,000 over night, raising the U.S. total to 203,608 by Wednesday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.

There are more than 900,000 confirmed cases worldwide, and more than 45,000 people have died across 180 countries, according to Johns Hopkins.

More than 30 states have initiated state-wide stay-at-home orders to help slow the spread of coronavirus, according to the New York Times. Countless cities and counties have also restrictions in place.

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump extended coronavirus safety guidelines until April 30, according to McClatchy News. Those guidelines include social distancing, avoiding travel, limiting gatherings to 10 people and staying away from nursing homes, according to McClatchy News.

White House advisers and scientific models predicted that between 100,000 and 240,000 people in the U.S. could die from coronavirus.

“Every citizen is being called upon to make sacrifices,” Trump said in Tuesday’s press briefing.

This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 12:42 PM with the headline "U.S. now has 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, doubling the total in just days."