Coronavirus Watch: 5M confirmed cases worldwide

There are more than 5 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus worldwide, and U.S. cases account for nearly a third of them.

But epidemiologists say the true number of cases may actually be far higher than that since testing capacity lags, some countries may not be fully reporting data, and people sick with the virus may not seek a test or may be asymptomatic. 

It's Thursday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network.

Here's the latest news, as of 3:30 p.m. ET:

• More than 1.5 million people have tested positive for the virus in the U.S., and more than 93,000 have died. See a map of confirmed cases here.
• Ohio and West Virginia will reopen restaurants for indoor seating on Thursday, one day after Connecticut took its initial reopening steps and Delaware reopened retail businesses by appointment only. Find the latest news on reopening in your state.
• Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, says the U.S. must be as "overprepared as possible" for a second wave of both lockdowns and infections.
• The U.S. has pledged to pay as much as $1.2 billion to get early access to 300 million doses of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine being developed and tested in England.
• President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will complete his regimen of hydroxychloroquine "in a day or two."
• 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.
• The CDC says the coronavirus "does not spread easily" on contaminated surfaces or objects, nor by animal-to-human contact, or vice-versa.
• One of the longest ever serving White House employees died last week from COVID-19, his granddaughter told WTTG in Washington, D.C.
• As states continue to reopen, some cities are closing down streets to allow restaurants to have al fresco dining.
• About 2.4 million Americans filed initial unemployment benefit claims last week, the Labor Department said Thursday. In just nine weeks, more than 38 million have sought jobless benefits that represent the nation’s most reliable gauge of layoffs.

Do you have questions about the nation reopening? Submit them through this form, and we'll address them in this story. Elizabeth from West Palm Beach, Florida, asks: I notice in the grocery store that people all have masks on but not gloves. Are gloves necessary?

The CDC recommends wearing gloves when you are cleaning or caring for someone who is sick. In most other situations, like running errands, wearing gloves is not necessary, the CDC says.

That's because a glove does not protect you any better than your own hand protects you, according to Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group. "The virus doesn't get through the skin. It can only infect you when you take that hand and touch your nose or mouth. As long as you sanitize your hands, you're fine," Poland said.

Read more on that question here.

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— Grace Hauck, Breaking News Reporter, @grace_hauck