Some US states to reopen soon as country surpasses 700,000 cases

At his daily briefing, US President Donald Trump announced that certain businesses in the states of Texas and Vermont will be allowed reopen on Monday and that Montana will begin lifting restrictions on Friday. The businesses will have to take precautions against the coronavirus.

"We continue to see a number of positive signs that the virus has passed its peak," Trump said.

Some state governors, however, have said they will not reopen their economies until more testing has been done.

With more than 718,000 confirmed infections and 37,700 fatalities as of Saturday, the United States has reported more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other country thus far.

US public health officials have said the ability to test enough people and track their contacts with others must be improved before easing restrictions, otherwise infections could surge again.

Testing capabilities and the spread of the infection also vary greatly between states. Individual state peaks will occur at different times, complicating the ability to pinpoint a national plateau, as radiology professor and coronavirus response expert Howard P. Forman has said.