Five months elapsed between the first reports of an unknown virus in Wuhan and the number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide reaching 1 million. The second million took 13 days. The number of cases rose to more than 2 million Wednesday, with almost 140,000 deaths worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Both figures are believed to be undercounts due to a lack of testing and other issues.
Almost a third of the cases are in the US, which has reported at least 639,000 cases and nearly 31,000 deaths, CNN reports. The grim milestone arrives as some countries, including Germany and Denmark, are preparing to ease lockdown restrictions, while others warn that the pandemic has yet to peak, the New York Times reports. (President Trump says 29 states are in "extremely good shape.")