THE number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed the 2-million mark Wednesday to reach 2,000,464 as of 11:33 p.m. local time, according to the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University.

Meanwhile, the national death toll from the disease rose to 112,924, according to the CSSE.

New York state remains the hardest-hit with 380,156 cases and 30,542 fatalities. Other states with over 100,000 cases include New Jersey, California, Illinois and Massachusetts, the CSSE data showed.

According to The Washington Post, since the start of June, more than a dozen U.S. states, including Texas and California, have recorded their highest-ever seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases, partly caused by the protests against police brutality that have swept the country in the past two weeks.

Meanwhile, some European Union member states have announced new steps to reopen their borders with the improvement of the COVID-19 situation.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer announced Wednesday that Germany would lift border controls Monday, which have been implemented for three months.(Xinhua)