April 24, 2020 / By Chris Irvine | Fox News
The United States’ coronavirus-related death toll passed 50,000 Friday morning, after more than 3,000 people died Thursday.
A tally compiled by Johns Hopkins University put the death toll at 50,031, with more than 869,000 cases across the country. The country with the next highest death toll is Italy, with more than 25,000. 
After the death toll dipped on 4/20, it has crept back up, with Thursday’s total the third-highest since the pandemic hit U.S. shores.
The U.S. is the hardest-hit country in the world, but on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence indicated he was hopeful the pandemic would begin to recede as summer approaches, telling Fox News’ Geraldo Rivera that it could “largely” be “behind us” by Memorial Day Weekend.