More than 130,000 Americans have died of coronavirus, and 14 states have reached a record number of new daily infections since early July, which has led the nation as a whole to set a record for the average number of new seven-day cases. . , for the 27th consecutive day, according to calculations by The New York Times.
Between Friday and Sunday, more than 200,000 coronavirus cases were added to the U.S. count.
With most of the partial or full reopening of the United States, July 4 revelers are likely to further increase new cases in the coming days and weeks.
Despite the tragic 130,000 COVID-19 death benchmark in the US, daily death tolls have yet to rise in line with increases in cases in the past two weeks in states such as Arizona, Florida, and Texas. .
More than 130,000 people have died of coronavirus in the United States. States like Texas and Florida are seeing dramatic increases in the number of daily infections, although corresponding increases in deaths have yet to be reported.
A further increase in US coronavirus cases began in early June (red). Although experts say a delay of approximately 17 days is expected for the increase in death, daily deaths have remained largely stable (blue)
Florida has now overtaken Arizona with the steepest and most alarming increase in cases in the United States.
In just two weeks, the number of total infections has doubled from 100,000 to more than 200,000 as of Sunday.
Arizona and Nevada also hit their respective record numbers of coronavirus hospitalized patients on Sunday, when the mayors of Austin and Houston, Texas warned that their hospitals are on the verge of being overwhelmed.
New daily case records with alarming increases were also established in states where the virus has been relatively quiet until recently: West Virginia, Tennessee, and Montana.
Last week, national attention turned to Arizona and Texas, which increasingly beat their record number of new cases in a single day over and over again.
Now Florida has focused again.
On Sunday, the Florida Department of Health confirmed 10,059 new cases of coronavirus.
It was the third-highest number of infections in a single day, behind only the previous day’s report and the cases reported on Thursday.
As of Monday morning, the state health department had added another 6,327 cases, bringing the Florida total to 203,376.
Both President Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have attributed the increasing number of cases in many states to more evidence.
That has been true in Florida, but it doesn’t explain the sharp increase in the proportion of those tests that are giving positive results.
Florida set another record number of daily infections on Saturday (right) but, oddly, corresponding increases in the number of deaths have yet to emerge, despite cases steadily increasing for more than two weeks.
After heartbreaking spikes in the number of cases in Arizona last week, a relatively low number of new infections were reported over the holiday weekend
Between June 21 and June 27, an average of 9.94 percent of the tests administered in the state each day.
Last week, the positive rate increased by almost half, to 14.7 percent.
However, trends in hospitalizations and deaths have moved in the opposite direction.
In the past two weeks, as cases doubled in Florida, the number of daily deaths decreased by 82 percent from Sunday to Sunday. Hospitalizations fell 79 percent during the same time period.
Experts have warned that increases in hospitalization and death always lag behind increases in the number of cases. One study suggested that the lag time between case increases and death increases is approximately 17 days. It has been at least 14 years since cases began to escalate in Florida.
Some Florida beaches, like those in Miami, were closed for the weekend of July 4, while others at locations in Cocoa Beach remained open but required masks and temperature controls (pictured)
Several cities and coastal counties in Texas closed their beaches over the holiday weekend, but protesters failed to follow orders in Galveston.
However, at least one group of state lawmakers is urging Gov. Rick DeSantis to make mandatory public masks. The Florida Department of Health currently recommends wearing face masks and avoiding crowds.
The state’s beaches remained largely open, according to Governor DeSantis’ Tuesday announcement that it would not issue radical closings and that Florida “would not return.”
Several southern Florida counties closed their beaches in any way, including Miami-Dade. Other beaches were less crowded than expected for a typical vacation over the July 4 weekend, but they certainly still attracted many revelers.
Some Florida beaches and piers require temperature controls and the use of masks at their entrances.
As of Monday, Miami also closed its restaurants and gyms in an effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus in the city.
Texas residents were seen celebrating and even protesting on state beaches and lakes.
The situation in Texas is increasingly dire, with more than 3,449 cases reported on Sunday, and a record 8,258 new cases reported on Saturday.
Nevada also reached a record number of hospitalizations on Sunday, after appearing to stifle its outbreak last month.
Governor Greg Abbott issued an eleventh hour mask mandate on Friday and major fireworks shows were canceled.
Some cities and counties, such as Galveston, closed their beaches, but there was no official state order, partiers gathered in restaurants still open, and others defied the closings by going to the beaches in protest.
Nearly 3,550 new cases of coronavirus were reported in Texas on Sunday. Another 8,258 cases were confirmed on Saturday, beating the previous record of 8,076 new cases on July 1.
In total, 195,239 cases have been confirmed in the state and 2,637 people have died.
Under mounting pressure, Governor Abbott has halted the state’s reopening plan, a move for which at least one group, the Ector County Republican Party in Odessa, has formally “censored” the governor.
The mayors of Austin and Houston, two of the state’s most populous cities, have issued coincident warnings that if the trajectory of the coronavirus outbreaks in Texas continues, every bed in their hospitals will be full and the broader hospital systems will be overwhelmed. in two weeks.
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