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WASHINGTON: COVID-19 cases are on the rise in 22 of the 50 U.S. states, according to a Reuters analysis, a concerning trend on a Labor Day holiday weekend traditionally filled with family gatherings and parties for mark the end of summer.
Just three weeks ago, cases increased in just three states, Hawaii, Illinois and South Dakota, according to an analysis comparing cases from the two-week period Aug. 8-22 with the past two weeks.
Most of the 22 states where cases are on the rise are now in the less populated parts of the Midwest and South.
On a percentage basis, South Dakota had the largest increase in the past two weeks at 126 percent, reporting more than 3,700 new cases. Health officials have linked part of the increase to hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists arriving in Sturgis, South Dakota, for an annual rally in August.
READ: Texas, Florida, California, New York will not follow the new US COVID-19 testing plan.
Cases are also increasing rapidly in Iowa, with 13,600 new infections in the past two weeks, and North Dakota, with 3,600 new cases in the same period.
The increases are masked across the country as new infections decline in the most populous states of California, Florida and Texas.
In California, cases fell by 39,000 in the past two weeks compared to the previous two weeks, compared with an increase of 37,000 cases in all 22 states in the same period, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county data. .
While cases nationwide have fallen from a peak in July, the United States will enter the Labor Day holiday weekend with an average of 44,000 new cases per day, double the number before the weekend of Labor Day. the Fallen from May 23 to 25.
Many health experts blame part of the July spike on social gatherings around Memorial Day.
At the same time, the United States continues to average about 1,000 new deaths from COVID-19 each day, and the total number of lives lost is approaching 190,000, the highest death toll in the world.
READ: New York Moves Forward With More Reopens As COVID-19 Cases Rise In The US Midwest.
Also contributing to the increase in cases in the United States were the reopening of schools and universities in many areas and the large gatherings that take place despite warnings from health experts, ranging from protests against racial injustice to demonstrations in support of the President Donald Trump.
The government’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, has said it is crucial that the outbreak is contained before cold weather sets in, when cases of influenza are likely to increase alongside COVID-19 and more. people begin to move indoors, increasing the risk of contagion.
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