The United States has set a new record for daily infections of COVID-19, reaching almost 37 000 cases in a single day – surpassing the last highest daily total set back in April.
While numbers continue to decline in the New York region, once considered the epicentre of the virus, southern and western states are seeing surges while the city of Houston in Texas is running short of ICU beds.
That State joined by Florida, Oklahoma and South Carolina are recording the highest single-day totals while more than 25 states are seeing their numbers spike in the clearest indication yet that the country is failing to contain the virus spread.
It’s another grim milestone for the United States, reaching record highs in daily infections over five months after the first infection was identified in the country.
In the audio below, Dr Anthony Fauci – Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on the US cases:
“If you look at how we’ve been hit, we’ve been hit badly. I mean, anybody who looks at the numbers, we’ve had now over 120 000 deaths and we’ve had two and a half million infections. So it’s a serious situation. In some respects. we’ve done very well right now. For example, the New York metropolitan area, which has been hit extraordinarily hard, has done very well in bringing the cases down and using the guidelines that we have very carefully put together in a stepwise fashion to try and carefully reopen their city and their state. However, in other areas of the country, we’re now seeing a disturbing surge of infections, ” says Dr Fauci.
While the Tri-State area, which includes New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, continue to experience sharp declines in cases and hospitalisations, that’s not so for the sunbelt and western states where numbers are rising – prompting this move from all three Democratic East Coast Governors as New York’s Andrew Cuomo explains.
“We’re announcing today a joint travel advisory. People coming in from states that have a high infection rate must quarantine for 14 days. And we have a calibration for the infection rate, and any state that goes over that infection rate, that state will be subject to the quarantine. It’s only for the simple reason that we worked very hard to get the viral transmission rate down. We don’t want to see it go up because a lot of people come into this region and they could literally bring the infection with them”.
That advisory affects Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Texas, while globally the European Union is considering barring US travelers too.
Ron Desantis is the Republican Governor of hard-hit Florida, “What we’re seeing in Florida is really rapid transmission in that 18 to 34 age group. And you’re seeing a lot of cases come up and granted, they weren’t being tested at this level a couple of months ago. But, I also think they’re testing positive at a higher and higher rate. So clearly, you know, you have a lot of spread there. So, folks who are in those vulnerable areas, in those categories, you know, do your part. But then also, if you’re in some of the maybe less risky demographics and those younger demographics, you need to do your part and make sure that you’re not spreading it to people who are going to be more at risk for this”.
In a country that raced to re-open economies in many parts due to what was viewed as a political upside and where mixed messaging on the wearing of masks is beginning to have a detrimental effect.
Dr Anthony Fauci adds, “Right now in the next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we’re seeing in Florida and Texas and Arizona and in other states. They’re not the only ones that are having difficulty. Bottom line, Mr Chairman, it’s a mixed bag, some good and some now we have a problem with.
Here’s the problem with the numbers we’re seeing, despite the push from the White House and others to portray a return to normalcy in the country, the virus is simply put – not under control. Just ask the dozens of secret service officers who were on-site for President Donald Trump indoor rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma last weekend who were ordered into self-quarantine after two of their colleagues tested positive for COVID-19.”
And with rising infections countrywide, questions are being raised about the sustainability of the re-openings seen to date and the implications of that on the millions of jobless who remain on the sidelines of the US economy.
