As deaths from the COVID-19 Coronavirus increase daily across the United States, adding at least 1,000 fatalities every 24 hours and go up 2-4 percent, on average, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam says he may be ready to start reopening businesses in phases, starting May 15, and begin to ease his “stay-at-home” orders.

Tuesday morning, just hours after the governor started talking about reopening, Virginia added more than 700 cases, topping 20,000 in the Old Dominion with 713 dead. In the United States, more than 25,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths erupt — the increase of 2-4 percent.

A White House memo predicts cases to increase by at least 200,000 daily by June.

In Virginia, the case stand at 20,256 — with 2,773 hospitalized. Floyd County cases remain at 3 with one hospitalized.

Area localities show 82 cases in Roanoke city, 57 in Roanoke County and 31 in Salem. Montgomery County now has 61 cases with one death while Franklin County lists 23, Pulaski reports 9 and Wythe shows 12 with one death.  Carroll County has 19 cases and Patrick has 2, according to the Virginia Department of Health’s report.

Northam said Monday that he is considering relaxing restrictions and letting some businesses and restaurants open but said nothing is definite yet.

“All of our efforts have slowed its spread, but they have not cured the disease,” Northam said. “We must figure out a path forward, but we must always be aware that this virus is still with us. Even when we ease some restrictions, we must continue to behave more cautiously than before.”

Statistics for Virginia, Nationwide, Worldwide:

Virginia:
Number Tests: 127,938
Confirmed Cases: 20,256
Hospitalized: 2,773
Deaths: 713

United States:
Infections: 1,213,010
Deaths : 69,925
Recoveries: 188,068

Worldwide:
Infections: 3,665,471
Deaths: 252,957
Recovered: 1,1206,344

(Information obtained from the Center for Disease Control, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, World Health Organization, and the Virginia Department of Health.)