Coronavirus rates stabilizing, parts of US may be able to open in next few weeks: CDC

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CHICAGO -- Social distancing efforts have been making a difference in slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

Across the country, there have been more than 580,000 confirmed cases with at least 23,000 dead.

The director of the CDC says infection rates are stabilizing and that some areas of the country might be able to open within the next few weeks.

"I think we've really stabilized across the country. We’re still seeing a small rate of increase, you know, in the range of 5 to 6 percent, as opposed to where we were before, when it was 20, 30 percent per day. But we're close. We’re stabilized and anticipate that we'll begin to see a decline in the days ahead, but we gotta just continue to take it day by day, and look at the data,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield.

Redfield says, however, that even in areas of the country that are opened up eventually, mitigation efforts and widespread testing will have to continue.

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