FILE PHOTO: A refrigerated trailer that San Antonio health authorities purchased to store bodies, as morgues in hospitals and funeral homes reach capacity with deaths from coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen in Bexar, Texas, July 15, 2020. Photograph taken on July 15, 2020. City of San Antonio / Brochure via REUTERS
(Reuters) – Deaths in the United States from the new coronavirus rose by more than 1,000 on Tuesday, the largest single-day increase since early June, according to a Reuters count.
After weeks of declining deaths, there were more than 5,200 COVID-19 deaths in the US In the week ending July 19, 5% more than the previous seven days, according to a Reuters analysis. That was the second consecutive week of increasing deaths.
Nearly 142,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, a number that experts warn is likely to increase after recent record spikes in case numbers and an alarming increase in hospitalizations in many states.
Deaths in the United States peaked in April, when the country lost an average of 2,000 people per day. Deaths have declined steadily, averaging 1,300 a day in May and less than 800 a day in June, according to a Reuters count.
But after many states reopened without achieving benchmarks to do so safely, such as a two-week decline in cases, deaths are rising again in 21 states, including Arizona, Florida, and Texas, based on increases in the past two weeks compared to the previous two.
While part of the increase in new cases can be attributed to more tests, hospitalizations, which are not tied to the test numbers, also began to increase in late June.
So far in July, 17 states have reported a record number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and nine states announced new highs on Tuesday, including Alabama, Texas, and California.
In Florida, about four dozen hospitals report that their (ICUs) have reached full capacity.
Written by Lisa Shumaker; Editing by Bill Berkrot
.
