Following what the dean of students and head of public safety called “incredibly reckless behavior”, 23 Syracuse University students were suspended Thursday after gathering on the campus quad at night.

The next day, citing “a rapidly escalating increase” in the percentage of people testing positive for the virus, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced that testing would be implemented for three residence halls.

Meanwhile, at least 26 cases of coronavirus in three states are being linked to the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, which drew thousands of people to South Dakota earlier this month.

And an individual who tested positive for the virus after a Maine wedding reception has died according to a statement Saturday (local time) from Robert Peterson, CEO of Millinocket Regional Hospital. At least 32 positive cases were linked to the August 7 wedding, CNN has previously reported.

“We are sorry to share that this patient passed away early (Friday) afternoon. Our thoughts and sympathies are with her family as they cope with this difficult loss,” Mr Peterson said.

Masks could save 70,000 lives

To prevent outbreaks from becoming even more widespread, Dr Chris Murray said it’s time for local governments to enforce more stringent mask rules.

“It will take a concerted effort but the impact is extraordinary, it’s really quite extraordinary what it could achieve,” Mr Murray, chief of the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Friday night.

“It really depends on what our leaders do, (both) as individuals, and what governments do.”

IHME projected that if nothing about the nation’s approach to prevention changed, death rates would dip in September but rise later in the fall, and the total would reach about 310,000 by December 1.

But if significantly more people — about 95 per cent of the US population — wore masks, the projection of total deaths from now to December would drop by almost 70,000, he said.

On the other hand, if governments ease current social distancing restrictions and mask mandates, the daily US death toll could reach 6000 by December, up from his current prediction of 2000 daily, Mr Murray said.

Over 176,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the US since the pandemic began, and more than 5.6 million have been infected, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

Coronavirus case rates have been dropping for weeks in parts of the US, but death rates have been relatively elevated.

Some states see positive changes

New York and New Jersey were early hotspots of the coronavirus pandemic but both reported encouraging signs this week.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy tweeted Saturday afternoon that the state saw its lowest number of coronavirus-related hospitalisations since March 24.

“It’s incredible what we’ve achieved by pulling together as one New Jersey family, but we’re not over the finish line yet. Keep it up,” he posted.

And New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office reported in a news release Saturday that the infection rate in the state stayed belowone per cent for 15 straight days, setting a new record low.

For the first time in two months, the number of coronavirus-related hospitalisations in Mississippi dropped below 1000, according to Governor Tate Reeves.

Meanwhile, other states are reaching troubling milestones.

California’s death toll is nearing 12,000, the California Department of Public Health said Saturday. With 95 deaths reported Saturday, Georgia broke 5000 coronavirus deaths.