Coronavirus test swab
Coronavirus test swabiStock

The United States on Tuesday recorded its one millionth coronavirus case, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally.

As of 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time, there were 1,011,877 cases of COVID-19 in the United States. The death toll was 58,351, according to the Baltimore-based university.

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, suggested on Tuesday "the worst days" of the coronavirus pandemic are over.

His comments came as he welcomed a group of small-business owners to the White House who have benefited from an emergency loan program he signed into law last month.

Trump used his speech to express optimism about the country’s path to economic recovery amid the pandemic, which has forced businesses to close and caused millions of layoffs across the country due to stay-at-home orders issued by states.

“As our nation battles against this terrible scourge, we continue to pray for the victims as well as those Americans who are grieving their lost ones and their loved ones,” Trump said, according to The Hill. “We suffer with one heart, but we will prevail. We are coming back, and we’re coming back strong.”

“Now that our experts believe that the worst days of the pandemic are behind us, Americans are looking forward to the safe and rapid reopening of our country,” he added.

Also on Tuesday, Florida's Governor, Ron DeSantis, visited the White House and met with Trump to discuss joining other states that have moved to ease coronavirus restrictions.

DeSantis visited the White House on a day when his state announced its highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus and two days before Florida's state-at-home order is due to expire.

"I mean, you go from D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois - you name it - Florida's done better," DeSantis said during a meeting with Trump, according to Reuters.

"And I'm not criticizing those states, but everyone in the media was saying Florida was going to be like New York or Italy, and that has not happened because we understood we have a big, diverse state," DeSantis added, noting "a tailored and measured approach" in his state that "did less damage to our state going forward."