A couple applauds in front of the Mount Sinai Hospital in Queens to show gratitude to medical staff and essential workers working on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic in New York City, the US on April 13. Photo: AFP

The US has reported 2,983,961 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 6:30pm US Eastern Time, an increase of nearly 60,000 cases during the past 24 hours; death toll rose to 131,268, according to Johns Hopkins University.