If Americans continue to aggressively abide by stay-at-home and social distancing guidelines, summer vacations could be back on the table, the nation's leading infectious disease expert said Thursday.

(The Center Square) – More than 6.6 million Americans filed unemployment claims last week as more businesses were forced to lay off and furlough workers because of stay at home orders to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

(The Center Square) – Despite the rising death toll, the U.S. continues to see encouraging signs that stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements are working to slow the spread of COVID-19, federal health officials said Wednesday.

On April 2, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) ordered schools statewide to close through April 30. This made it the 50th and final state to issue a statewide school closure. Previously, Reynolds' office had recommended schools close from March 15 to April 13 but left the decision to close up to individual school districts.

"It's easy for Americans to forget the food they eat doesn't just magically appear on a supermarket shelf. Someone had to produce it and somebody had to put it there."

(The Center Square) – U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams on Sunday described the next week in the country's fight against COVID-19 as "our Pearl Harbor moment."

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump said Tuesday that a surge is coming in the spread of the novel coronavirus that has infected more than 160,000 Americans and killed more than 3,700, but urged everyone to follow federal guidelines so the country can end the pandemic.

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump on Monday said the next 30 days will be vital in the country's fight against COVID-19 while also announcing the U.S. has tested more than a million Americans for the disease.

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump on Sunday said the federal government is extending to April 30 its guidelines on social distancing and other measures to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus that has killed more than 2,300 Americans.

(The Center Square) – Residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are under a travel advisory as the number of deaths in the United States from the novel coronavirus doubled to more than 2,000 over a 48 hour period.

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Senate late Wednesday unanimously passed an historic, $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package that would send billions of dollars directly to Americans and provide hundreds of billions more for businesses, health care systems and others impacted by the pandemic.

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Senate has begun debate on a coronavirus stimulus measure after White House and Senate leaders struck a deal earlier Wednesday on a $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.

As tens of millions of Americans remain on lockdown over fears of the spread of coronavirus, Congress remains locked in a partisan dispute over a relief plan that Democrats say they didn't have a hand in crafting.

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump announced Sunday he was deploying the U.S. National Guard to send help to the states of New York, California and Washington in their fight against the spread of the novel coronavirus.

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Senate will vote Wednesday on a coronavirus relief package already approved in the House, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said.

(The Center Square) – Referring to the fight against the novel coronavirus as a war, President Donald Trump said Wednesday he is invoking the Defense Production Act (DPA) to help protect the country.

(The Center Square) – Saying that "in a sense" he is "a wartime president," President Donald Trump wants Congress to approve $500 billion in new spending to send money directly to American households reeling from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

With more than 6,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and 112 deaths through Tuesday night, elected officials across the country are struggling to find the right approach to deal with the pandemic.