As the world reached 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases Thursday, the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said he can’t guarantee whether a second round of lockdowns is coming as a possible second wave of the virus looms.

The Labor Department also said another 2.4 million people filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, and President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer Michael Cohen was released from a New York federal prison because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Had states across the country begun issuing stay-at-home orders just one week before they did, nearly 36,000 people would not have died and more than 700,000 positive virus cases would have been avoided, new research from Columbia University shows.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Dr. Robert Redfield told the Financial Times that he “can’t guarantee” whether or not a second round of stay-at-home orders is coming for the United States in the winter as the new coronavirus may see a second wave that coincides with cold weather and a flu season.

About 2.4 million Americans filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, the Labor Department said Thursday, as the health and economic crisis sparked by the coronavirus ruptures a growing number of industries.

BlackFacts Details

Breaking news: Kommetdieding wins the 2021 Durban July

Democratic Party Facts