US health officials estimated that the coronavirus may already have infected at least 20 million people.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said the actual number of infections is expected to be 10-fold greater than the reported cases.

The argument came from the state of Texas, which agreed not to reopen despite increased incidents.

The US has 2,504,676 confirmed coronavirus cases out of which 126,785 died while 1,052,389 recovered. There are 1,325,502 active cases in the US.

There are 9,714,951 confirmed Covid-19 cases worldwide out of which 491,868 have died while 5,250,218 have recovered. Registered cases are counted 3,972,865 worldwide.

University of Washington predicts 180,000 US deaths by October – or 146,000 while 95 percent of Americans wear masks.

CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield informed the reporters, “Our best estimate right now is that for every case that was reported, there actually were 10 other infections.”

He said this was because testing was not restricted for people with symptoms, and asymptomatic carriers. “We probably recognized about 10% of the outbreak by the methods that we use to diagnosis between the March, April, and May.”

Dr. Redfield urged Americans to continue to wear masks, wash hands, and distance from society. He said the virus had been exposed to about 5 to 8 percent of people.

“As we go into the fall, in the winter, these are going to be really, really important defense mechanisms.”