In a major retreat that illustrated how dire things have become in Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered the use of masks in most of the state after recently refusing to allow even local governments to impose such rules.
The increase was partly attributed to Americans not covering their faces or following other rules of social distancing as states lifted their blockades in recent weeks. Fauci warned that if people don’t start complying, “we are going to have serious difficulties.”
The United States recorded 51,200 new confirmed cases Wednesday, according to a count by Johns Hopkins University. That represents a doubling of the daily total over the past month and is even higher than the country witnessed during the deadliest phase of the crisis in April and May, when the New York metropolitan area was easily the worst hot spot in the United States.
All states except 10 show a rebound in recently reported cases in the past 14 days, according to data collected by the COVID voluntary monitoring project. The outbreaks are more severe in Arizona, Texas, and Florida, which along with California have closed or suppressed in bars, restaurants, and movie theaters in the past week.
Nebraska and South Dakota were the only states outside the Northeast with a downward trend in cases.
While some of the increases can be explained by expanded testing, other indicators are also grim, including hospitalizations and positive test rates. In the past two weeks, the percentage of positive tests has doubled in Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Ohio. In Nevada, it has tripled. In Idaho, it is five times greater.
In Texas, where new cases in the past two weeks increased from about 2,400 per day to nearly 8,000 on Wednesday, the positive rate increased from 8% to 14.5%. In Arizona, it went from 5.7% to 10.3%.
Abbott, who began one of the most aggressive reopening hours of any governor in May, ordered the use of masks in all counties with at least 20 cases of COVID-19.
Abbott said in a video posted on Twitter that the state’s lowest infection rate and the count of cases after his order to stay home in April may have led some to think that “the coast was clear.”
But the number of people hospitalized in Texas due to COVID-19 has quadrupled since the end of May, after companies began reopening.
“We are now at a point where the virus is spreading so fast that there is little margin for error,” Abbott said. “I know that wearing a face mask is not in my best interest, but I also know that wearing a face mask will help us keep Texas open for business. And it will help Texans earn the salary they need. “
The surge comes as Americans head to a July 4 holiday that health officials warn could spark the outbreak by drawing large crowds. Many municipalities have canceled fireworks. California and Florida beaches have been closed.
Florida reported more than 10,000 new confirmed cases for the first time on Thursday. That’s six times the daily count for less than a month ago. The state also reported 67 deaths for the second time in a week and 325 new hospitalizations, one of the largest 24-hour jumps in Florida to date. Georgia also experienced its largest single-day increase to date, nearly 3,500 cases.
“I’m discouraged because we were not acting fast enough to shut things down, and we could have done a much better job of controlling the virus,” said Megan Archer, a 39-year-old woman from West Palm Beach. , Florida, who lost her job at a county parks department during the outbreak.
Meanwhile, the government reported that unemployment in the United States fell to 11.1% in June, as the economy added a solid 4.8 million jobs. But that number may be outdated: The data was collected during the second week of June, before many states began to pull back as they restarted their economies.
Several northeastern states have seen new infections slow significantly, including New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Jersey, allowing their Atlantic City casinos to reopen Thursday, albeit without smoking, drinking, or eating.
Pennsylvania, an outlier in the Northeast states, reported its highest number of new cases in one day since May, with more than 830, more than a quarter of them in Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, which will enforce the closure of a bar and restaurant week. and all meetings of more than 25 people starting on Friday.
Other states, like Colorado, a major summer destination where the increase in infections has been less dramatic, keep a close eye on its neighbors.
“I’ve been looking at that map. … We are aware of what is going on around us and we are very anxious, “said Dr. Michelle Barron, medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Colorado UCHealth Hospital.” The next two weeks are critical “
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump seemed confident that the virus would soon go away, and he told Fox Business: “I think at some point that will just go away, I hope.”
The United States has reported at least 2.7 million cases and more than 128,000 deaths, the highest number in the world. Globally, there have been 10.7 million confirmed cases and more than 517,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins count. The actual number is believed to be significantly higher, in part due to limited evidence and minor cases that have been lost.
Other countries are also reporting an increase in cases.
“We have entered a treacherous new phase in the life cycle of this pandemic,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa warned in a transmission to the nation, which registered more than 8,100 new infections, a one-day record, and has the largest workload on the continent.
India, the second most populous country in the world with more than 1.3 billion people, has reported almost 100,000 new cases in the past four days alone.
A look at cases across the country:
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Associated Press’ Adriana Gomez Licon in Miami; Kelli Kennedy in Fort Lauderdale; Cara Anna in Johannesburg; and David Rising in Berlin contributed to this report. Coyle reported from New York.
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