The number of U.S. COVID-19 cases has now passed 3 million according to Johns Hopkins University

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States on Wednesday surpassed 3 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The nation reached that number as case numbers have surged in areas around the country, with a record of more than 60,000 cases being reported on Tuesday. That surpassed the earlier record of more than 54,000 cases reported last Thursday.

But while the case count has risen dramatically, there has also been a drop in the COVID-19 death rate.

The spikes have largely been across the South and Southwest and have resulted in state and local leaders slowing plans to fully reopen their economies.

Leaders are also urging Americans to continue to wear masks to stop the spread of the virus via respiratory droplets from the nose and mouth. 

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci on Tuesday said that "it's a false narrative to take comfort in a lower rate of death. There's so many other things that are very dangerous and bad about this virus, don't get yourself into false complacency."

The prolonged pandemic has wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy and had impacts around the nation on everything from school attendance and religious worship to sporting events and Broadway shows.