■ U.S. sees more than 100 deaths in a single day.

Reports from U.S. states on Monday totaled more than 100 deaths from the novel coronavirus, pushing the country’s total death toll past 500 and marking the first time single-day fatalities have risen into the triple-digits since the pandemic reached U.S. soil.

The virus has claimed lives in at least 34 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and has infected more than 41,000 people nationwide, according to tracking by The Washington Post.

By Monday afternoon, three dozen states had reported new deaths. New York, the state hit hardest by the outbreak, reported the most, with 43 deaths. Louisiana, where new infections are spiking, reported 14, followed by New Jersey and Michigan, which reported seven each.

The new fatalities offer a stark illustration of the outbreak’s deepening human toll at a time when President

Donald Trump is considering scaling back containment efforts in hopes of preventing further economic turmoil. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that the federal government would reassess social distancing guidelines at the end of the month.

Public health officials have urged the administration not to backpedal on social distancing, saying such a move would undermine work to mitigate the virus and overwhelm hospitals, which already are facing shortages of tests, masks and other essential medical supplies.

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned of a worsening crisis as some people continue to disregard messages to stay home.

People choosing to visit beaches and national parks or spend time crowding around Washington’s cherry blossoms is how the virus is going to keep spreading, Adams told NBC’s “Today” show Monday.