New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who leads a state that has seen almost half of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths, declared Monday that "the worst is over" – if residents continue to follow rigid behavior guidelines.

The day also saw the number of worldwide confirmed coronavirus cases close in on 2 million and a sailor on the USS Theodore Roosevelt die. But there was reason for optimism, too: The U.S. death toll dipped on consecutive days during the weekend, providing hope that the most-difficult time could soon be in the nation's rearview mirror.

In Washington, the White House dismissed as "ridiculous" any conjecture that President Donald Trump was firing Dr. Anthony Fauci, the medical face of the White House battle against the pandemic. Trump remains determined to "reopen" the U.S. for business as soon as possible. He'll name a task force Tuesday charged with figuring out when and how to do it.

Ogbonnaya Omenka, a public health specialist at Butler University's College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, told USA TODAY a "stepwise approach" to opening up the country would likely be needed.

"Determining when to reopen is a dicey task," Omenka said. "The decision could backfire if it turns out to be too soon."

Monday marked one month since Trump declared a national emergency. There were fewer than 2,000 confirmed cases nationwide then.

Sunday's U.S. death toll was 1,557, according to Johns Hopkins University data. That was down from 1,877 on Saturday and more than 2,000 on Friday. Worldwide, there were more than 119,000 deaths and nearly 2 million coronavirus cases as of Monday afternoon.

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Johns Hopkins University revises global coronavirus cases from 2M to 1.9M

The Johns Hopkins University data dashboard reported more than 2 million confirmed global cases of coronavirus on Monday night before those numbers were revised without explanation.

It was just 10 days ago, that confirmed coronavirus cases passed the 1 million mark on April 3. At that point, the U.S. death toll was slightly more than 6,000. As of Monday, more than 23,600 people have died from the virus in the U.S., with more than 7,300 of those deaths coming in New York City.

The United States has, by far, the most confirmed cases of coronavirus, with more than 582,600 cases in the nation. Spain has the second-most cases (just over 170,000) and Italy has more than 159,000. The death toll in Spain inched closer to 18,000 Monday evening, while Italy has more than 20,400 coronavirus deaths.

The numbers from Johns Hopkins are dependent on testing, which has been ramped up in recent weeks.

Treasury: Most Americans will receive stimulus payments by Wednesday

The Internal Revenue Service has begun to distribute stimulus checks of up to $1,200 to millions of Americans as the federal government tries to jolt the economy back to life amid the devastation from the coronavirus pandemic.

The first checks were delivered via direct deposit on Friday and tens of millions will see them appear in their bank accounts by Wednesday, according to the Treasury Department.

Those who haven’t provided the IRS with their bank account information will get a paper check in the mail, which could take longer, though the department has launched a portal on its website that allows Americans to input their direct deposit information to speed up getting the cash.

The government is distributing the checks under a new $2.2 trillion economic recovery package that President Donald Trump signed into law last month.

–Michael Collins and Christal Hayes

Governors on East Coast, West Coast form task forces to reopen

Governors of six states significantly impacted by the coronavirus – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Rhode Island – banded to create their own working group to develop a coordinated response to gradually lifting the states’ stay at home orders.

Participants include the group include top health official from each state, the head of economic development and the top aides to the governors. The governors’ task force will begin its work on Tuesday.

This comes one day before Trump is set to announce a new federal task force that will examine whether the administration should extend federal social distancing guidelines past May or attempt to reopen parts of the country. Trump has maintained that he has “absolute authority” on decisions to reopen the country.

“If it’s your authority to open, why wasn’t it your authority to close? And when you say open, what does that mean?” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. "Governors need clarity. That’s what they need.”

In a similar move, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he is preparing to share his plan to transition back to normalcy with Oregon Gov. Kate Brown and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee as part of a “shared vision.”

– Maureen Groppe and Gabrielle Canon

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo: ‘The worst is over’ during coronavirus crisis

After New York state reported 671 new deaths Monday, bringing the state’s overall total to more than 10,000, Gov. Andrew Cuomo offered optimism with one caveat. “The worst is over,” Cuomo said Monday during his daily briefing, “if we continue to be smart going forward.”

Cuomo did indicate that the statement was his personal belief and added that the flattening of new deaths curve could end with “two or three days of reckless behavior.” To avoid that, Cuomo asked residents to follow stay-at-home restrictions and to continue to take precautions.This comes one day after Cuomo signed an executive order that directed employers to provide essential workers with cloth or surgical masks, free of charge, when employees were interacting with the public.

The 671 new deaths are the lowest New York has reported in several days. Cuomo said it was “basically flat at a horrific level of pain and grief and sorrow.”

Fauci clarifies comments after White House denies Trump wants to fire him

The White House issued a statement Monday saying President Donald Trump has no intention of firing Dr. Anthony Fauci after Fauci acknowledged that lives could have been saved if the president had shut down the country sooner than mid-March.

The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, pressed on the timeline Sunday, conceded on CNN that there was pushback against a shutdown. Fauci on Monday clarified he used a "poor choice of words" when he suggested lives could have been saved had the Trump administration put in place coronavirus restrictions earlier in the year.

Trump himself, under fire for what critics called a slow response to the spread of coronavirus, followed up Fauci's mea culpa with a lengthy statement defending his actions as the virus spread across the country. His speech included a White House-produced, campaign-style video that showed governors and other officials praising Trump for restrictions that slowed the economy in order to contain the coronavirus.

Trump supporter DeAnna Lorraine, who is challenging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her seat out of San Francisco, tweeted that, early on, it was Fauci who downplayed the coronavirus. Her tweet, retweeted by Trump Sunday night, concluded with "Time to #FireFauci..."

“This media chatter is ridiculous – President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci," spokesman Hogan Gidley said in the statement. "Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted adviser to President Trump.”

– David Jackson

Sailor from USS Theodore Roosevelt dies from coronavirus complications

A USS Theodore Roosevelt sailor who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the U.S. Naval Hospital Guam last week died Monday of COVID-related complications, the Navy said. The sailor, whose name was not immediately released, tested positive March 30, was removed from the ship and placed in an isolation house. He was found unresponsive Thursday, CPR was administered, and he was rushed to the hospital where he died, the Navy said.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt arrived in Guam on March 27 for a scheduled port visit. Since then, the crisis on the ship has rocked the Navy. Almost 600 members of the 4,800-member crew have tested positive for the coronavirus. The Navy fired the aircraft carrier's captain after he pleaded with the Navy for help in a letter obtained by the media. Days later the Navy secretary was ousted.

– Tom Vanden Brook

Stocks fall after historic gains

U.S. stocks faded Monday following Wall Street's biggest week in almost half a century. Standard & Poor’s 500 index tumbled 1% after it had climbed 12% in four days last week – markets were closed on Good Friday – and jumped more than 20% in the past three weeks.

The Dow finished with a 1.4% drop. The optimism was driven projections suggesting the pandemic will soon ease in the U.S., along with trillions of government dollars being poured into the economy to keep it afloat during the almost-nationwide lockdown.

More coronavirus news and information from USA TODAY

Japan PM Shinzo Abe faces more criticism; South Korea reports relapses

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who has been steadily criticized for his response to the coronavirus, is facing more fallout for sharing a video on his verified Twitter account that many on social media are calling tone-deaf.

The video shows Abe sitting on a couch with a disinterested look, petting a dog, sipping from a mug, reading and then sitting on a chair and punching the keys of a remote control. On the other side of the split frame, a musician strums a guitar and sings.

“You cannot see your friends or organize drinking parties, but your actions are surely saving many lives," Abe wrote in the message. “Everyone please cooperate.”

On Tuesday, Abe declared a month-long state of emergency – originally focused on Tokyo, Osaka and five other prefectures, but later expanded to the entire country – asking residents to stay at home. It is voluntary, however, and many residents are still being forced to commute and make themselves susceptible to exposure, since some companies have been slow to transition to remote work.

In South Korea, a troubling trend may be emerging. Over the last week, the country’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported that at least 116 recovered patients have tested positive again, more than doubling the previous week’s relapse total of 51.

“While we are putting more weight on reactivation as the possible cause, we are conducting a comprehensive study on this,” said Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the KCDC.

– Lorenzo Reyes; the Associated Press

George Stephanopoulos 'feeling great' despite testing positive for COVID-19

"Good Morning America" anchor George Stephanopoulos said Monday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus but has no symptoms. His wife, actress and author Ali Wentworth, confirmed she tested positive for COVID-19 almost two weeks ago. The couple have two children, and Wentworth self-isolated in a room in the family's New York home. Wentworth was ill but did not require hospitalization.

"I’ve never had a fever, never had chills, never had a headache, never had a cough, never had shortness of breath," Stephanopoulos said. "I’m feeling great."

– Amy Haneline

Fear and loathing: One month later, Americans change view of COVID-19

Americans' attitudes changed dramatically between USA TODAY/Ipsos polls taken March 10-11 and April 9-10. The changes were not surprising after a month in which almost all Americans have been ordered to stay at home and the nation's death toll has reached a global record. The number who say the virus poses a high threat to them personally and to the USA doubled.

"At first, I thought, OK, we're going to have to do this; everyone stay at home for a few weeks, for a month, and we'll be back to normal," says Brent Charnigo, 39, of Cleveland, who was among those surveyed. "Now it's clear that's not going to be the case. It's going to be long-lasting." How long? He pauses. "Years."

– Susan Page

Great-grandma, 97, beats COVID-19

A 97-year-old woman was discharged from a Brazilian hospital Sunday after becoming one of the world's oldest patients to survive COVID-19. Gina Dal Colleto was hospitalized April 1 after displaying symptoms including a cough and mental confusion, according to a statement from Rede D’Or São Luiz, which controls the Vila Nova Star hospital. Dal Colleto was put on oxygen and spent time in the intensive care unit. She was wheeled out of the hospital to applause.

Dal Colleto lives alone in the coastal city of Santos, according to the hospital. She has six grandchildren and five great-grandchildren and "enjoys walking, shopping and cooking," the hospital said in a statement. Brazil has experienced the highest number of coronavirus cases in South America – 22,318 confirmed cases and 1,241 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

– N'dea Yancey-Bragg

More coronavirus headlines from USA TODAY

Contributing: The Associated Press