Coronavirus slams veterans home

As of Tuesday, nearly 70 U.S. veterans have died of COVID-19 at a long-term care facility in Massachusetts. Another 82 residents and 81 employees at the state-run Soldiers’ Home in Holyoke have tested positive. Federal and state officials are investigating how the virus made such headway. They are also considering whether staff failed to give residents proper medical care and if the state’s top prosecutor should bring legal action.

Where does the pandemic stand in the United States? The U.S. death toll neared 59,000 by midday Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. That exceeds the number of soldiers killed during the Vietnam War. More than 1 million people have confirmed cases of the coronavirus throughout the country, with 116,000-plus Americans considered recovered. Health officials have administered more than 5.8 million tests.

Dig deeper: Read WORLD medical correspondent Dr. Charles Horton’s answers to your questions about the disease.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated this report since its initial posting.