By Jennifer Calfas and Andrew Restuccia 

Reopenings accelerated in the U.S. and across the world as falling numbers of coronavirus cases and slowing death rates in some regions fueled hopes that the worst of the pandemic was over.

The U.S. death toll from the coronavirus is poised to top 100,000, with 98,875 reported deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, including 655 new deaths between 8 p.m. Monday and the same time Tuesday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the data. The U.S. has more than 1.6 million confirmed cases, according to the data. Globally, nearly 350,000 people have died, and total infections exceed 5.5 million.

The U.S. reported lower-than-usual daily death tolls over the long holiday weekend and into Tuesday, but the figures may understate the extent of the virus because reporting standards differ state-to-state, and they may have been affected by the holiday weekend. Since April 1, the daily death toll has dropped below 1,000 just six times, primarily on a weekend or Monday, according to the Journal's analysis.

The number of new cases and deaths continued to decline in New York, the state with the most confirmed infections and deaths. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said 73 people died Monday, the fewest since the virus began to surge in mid-March. "In this absurd new reality, that is good news," the Democrat said.

Mr. Cuomo and President Trump are planning to meet at the White House on Wednesday to discuss federal funding to help the state.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday that he expected the city to enter its first phase of reopening in the first or second week of June, and that its transit system was developing ways to minimize crowding on subways and buses, while maintaining social distancing and requiring passengers to wear facial coverings. Hospitals in the hard-hit city, now coming up for air, are preparing for a potential resurgence of the virus in the fall.

On Twitter, Mr. Trump on Tuesday defended his administration's response to the coronavirus, repeating his position that the number of deaths would be much higher if he hadn't limited travel from China.

He has taken criticism from some public health officials, Democratic lawmakers and others for his pandemic response, with experts faulting the administration for not doing more earlier to set up a robust testing system and for initially playing down the virus's threat. Experts have also said that many early cases in New York came from European nations, not China.

Earlier Tuesday, the president cited stock-market gains and called on states to reopen quickly, even though many hadn't met administration recommendations for reopening the economy. Meanwhile, the administration is examining proposals to provide cash incentives to encourage unemployed Americans to return to work.

Mr. Cuomo, wearing a mask, rang the opening bell as the New York Stock Exchange resumed floor trading Tuesday with plexiglass barriers to keep traders apart. The number of traders was limited to a quarter of the usual and masks were required. Traders also are required to avoid public transit. Stocks rose on optimism about reopening and the potential development of a vaccine.

Reopening plans have varied in speed and scope across counties and cities. Gyms and pools in Ohio could resume operations under new guidelines. Hair salons and barbershops can reopen in most California counties, but not in others -- including Los Angeles and several counties in the Bay Area. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said schools could hold in-person graduation ceremonies outdoors starting July 6 with social-distancing measures and a limited number of attendees.

Six Flags Entertainment Corp. said its first park would reopen with capacity restrictions June 5. Frontier City in Oklahoma City will have safety protocols including temperature checks, social distancing and a requirement that visitors wear masks. Water parks in Texas could reopen as soon as Friday with 25% capacity, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

As restrictions lift, some protections have been discontinued.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said Tuesday that the state would end its pandemic-related moratoria on evictions and foreclosures, joining a few other states where the protections have expired.

South Carolina and Texas are among states where courts have dropped the protections. Some localities in those states have kept orders in place. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have also suspended foreclosures of federally insured mortgages. The Cares Act provides some protections for occupants of affordable rental housing.

Ms. Reynolds, a Republican, said the Iowa moratorium would lapse at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. She said that she would be setting up a fund through the Cares Act to help qualifying applicants to avoid foreclosure and eviction.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany encouraged Americans to follow the administration's social-distancing guidelines following a Memorial Day weekend in which crowds gathered in some states in violation of the recommendations.

"There are ways to do this and the president would underscore to everyone that we should be taking into account these measures," she said during a White House briefing Tuesday.

Memorial Day weekend played out as a study in contrasts across the U.S. Crowds hit beaches in central and southern Florida, and Texas bars opened to patrons for the first time in months. Elsewhere, Memorial Day parades were canceled or events were streamed online because of concerns about possible new waves of infection.

As coronavirus testing ramps up around the country, developers are racing to produce next-stage technologies that could provide results as quickly as an at-home pregnancy test.

With the pace of reopening speeding up in many places, the World Health Organization cautioned that evidence of declining infection rates shouldn't be taken as a reason to stop social distancing, warning that could open the way to a second wave.

"My concern right now is that people may be assuming that the current drop of infections represents a natural seasonality, and I think that's a dangerous assumption," said Mike Ryan, head of WHO's emergencies program.

In Italy, politicians warned of a possible return to stricter measures after crowds filled beaches, parks and bars over the weekend in a mass celebration of the end of the country's lockdown.

Some developing countries are reopening in efforts to save their economies, even as caseloads continue to rise at worrisome rates.

In Brazil and Mexico, car factories are firing back up, while mines are restarting in Peru. Domestic flights started taking off again in India, even though the country is hitting its highest levels of new cases.

On Tuesday, India reported 6,535 new cases, extending a stretch of days above 6,000. Total confirmed cases stand at 145,380 with 4,167 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Iran reopened restaurants around the country Tuesday, the first day after the Eid holiday marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan. The move followed weeks of easing lockdown restrictions that have included reopening religious sites, museums, shopping malls and bazaars.

Despite a recent surge in numbers, the Iranian government says most provinces have the coronavirus outbreak under control. On Tuesday, the country reported 1,787 new cases of coronavirus infection and 57 deaths overnight, raising the total to 139,511 cases and 7,508 deaths.

Write to Jennifer Calfas at Jennifer.Calfas@wsj.com and Andrew Restuccia at Andrew.Restuccia@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 26, 2020 21:08 ET (01:08 GMT)