The United States has set another record for new coronavirus cases after reaching a single-day peak of 67,400 with almost half of those infections coming from Texas, Florida, and California.
Daily cases have skyrocketed at hotspots in the past few weeks, and the US now averages around 60,000 infections per day.
There were 67,417 new cases on Tuesday, totaling more than 3.4 million infections in the United States.
More than 136,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 after an additional 900 deaths were added to the death toll.
Texas reported a record 10,745 cases on Tuesday, while Florida reported 10,181 and California reached 7,346 new infections.
Florida also broke its daily record for coronavirus deaths on Tuesday with an additional 132 deaths.
There were 67,417 new cases on Tuesday, bringing the total to more than 3.4 million infections in the United States.
More than 136,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 after an additional 900 deaths were added to the death toll.
COVID-19-related deaths have increased in the past week with approximately a dozen states reporting increases in deaths for at least two consecutive weeks, including California, Florida, and Texas.
Meanwhile, 46 states reported more new cases of COVID-19 last week compared to the previous week, according to a Reuters analysis of data from the COVID Monitoring Project.
Nationwide, new cases of COVID-19 have increased every week for six consecutive weeks.
Cases are only reduced weekly in New York, Tennessee, New Jersey, and Delaware.
With the virus spreading rapidly in the southern and western states, one of the country’s top public health officials offered conflicting theories about what is driving the outbreak.
CDC Director Robert Redfield says the current spike in COVID-19 infections in the south may have been caused by people from the Northeast traveling there on vacation and not because states are reopening too quickly.
Addressing the alarming increase in coronavirus cases, Redfield said Tuesday that infections in the Sun Belt states “simultaneously appeared” in the second week of June after reopening in several phases.
Redfield compared it to the initial outbreak in the Northeast in March, which he says spread to several states from New York’s epicenter.
TEXAS CASES: Texas reported a record 10,745 new cases Tuesday
TEXAS DEATHS: 87 new deaths were reported in Texas on Monday, below the record of 105 on July 9
CALIFORNIA: The state reported 7,346 new cases Monday and 47 new deaths
FLORIDA CASES: The number of cases in Florida increased by 9,194, bringing the total to 291,629
FLORIDA DEATHS: Florida added a record 132 deaths to its death toll on Monday
‘We are trying to give states guidance on how to safely reopen. I think the guidance we presented was really solid, ” he said in an interview with Dr. Howard Bauchner of The Journal of the American Medical Association.
“I think if you look critically, few states really followed that guide, although I don’t think the reopening is actually what is driving the current expansion of the South right now.”
‘If you look at the South, it all happened around June 12 to June 16. Everything exploded simultaneously.
“We are of the opinion that there was something else that was the driver. Perhaps Memorial Day, not the weekend, but Memorial Day week, where many northerners decided to go on vacation to the south.
Redfield said some southern states did not take social distancing measures as seriously as other parts of the country when they reopened because they did not have major outbreaks.
This allowed the virus to spread rapidly once it was introduced and took over the southern states, according to Redfield.
‘Something happened in mid-June that we now face now. It is not as simple as saying that it was related to the time of reopening and not reopening, ” he said.
New cases have skyrocketed in Texas, Florida, Arizona, and California in the past few weeks, and the US now averages around 50,000 to 60,000 infections per day. 46 states reported more new cases of COVID-19 last week compared to the previous week
CDC Director Robert Redfield said Tuesday that the current spike in COVID-19 infections in the south may have been caused by people from the northeast traveling on vacation and not because states are reopening too quickly.
Redfield did not provide any data to back up its claim that northeast tourists may be partly to blame for the current increase in cases.
CDC officials said there are several possible explanations and that Redfield was offering only one.
Redfield said he believes the United States could control COVID-19 in four to eight weeks if all Americans wear a mask and continue the social distance.
“I think if we can get everyone to wear masks right now, we can handle this in four, six, or eight weeks,” Redfield said.
‘I am glad to see that the President and Vice President wear a mask. Clearly, in their situation, they could easily justify that they don’t need … but we need them to lead by example. ”
He said he was “concerned” about fall and winter as it coincides with the flu season.
“I think the fall and winter of 2020 and 2021 will probably be one of the most difficult times we’ve ever experienced in American public health because of … the coexistence of COVID and influenza,” he said. .
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