Coronavirus Update: U.S. numbers trending down as Europe makes plans to re-open next week

As April draws to a close this week, lawmakers are facing mounting pressure to decide how and when to re-open their localities.

The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide will soon pass 3 million, the United States accounting for just under 1 million of them.

The global death toll is hovering around 207,000, as the U.S.’s number nears 55,000.

Southern Europe and France, which appear to be past their peak in cases of the virus, have begun announcing measures to lift the lockdown. Italy, one of the first countries to experience the devastating effects of the virus, will begin to re-open manufacturing plants during the first week of May. They have recorded 26,384 deaths.

France, which has been on complete lockdown for weeks, will vote this week on a national exit strategy, containing 17 recommendations for re-opening the country.

In the UK, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will return to work today following his recovery from the coronavirus, during which he was hospitalized and in the ICU for several nights.

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, a republican, permitted businesses in his state to open on Friday. Not all have, but some salons, tattoo parlors and gyms have begun to try and reassemble their businesses.

California beaches saw a massive influx of visitors this weekend as temperatures on the East Coast neared 100 degrees. Though most public spaces in L.A. remain closed, beaches in and parks in neighboring Orange County and further up the coast in Sacramento had thousands of visitors who state and local authorities tried to make sure maintained social distancing guidelines.

New York is seeing its lowest daily death tolls since March. Governor Andrew Cuomo is outlining a phased plan to re-open the state, potentially slated to begin by May 15. According to the governor, construction and manufacturing workers would be the first to return to their jobs. New York state’s death toll is currently 17,000.