The US now has 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. Some states are reporting surges
There are now more than 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The figure comes Thursday as some states are reporting surges in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. The U.S. has more than double the number of confirmed cases as the No. 2 country — Russia, which has 772,000 reported cases, the university reported.
More than 112,900 people have died in the U.S. from coronavirus as of Thursday morning, Johns Hopkins data shows. The country with the second-most COVID-19 deaths is the United Kingdom with 41,213.
Twenty-one states saw increases in cases last week, Reuters reported, prompting warnings from health officials who say the pandemic isn’t over.
“There is a new wave coming in parts of the country,” Eric Toner with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security told Bloomberg News. “It’s small and distant so far, but it’s coming.”
On Wednesday, California saw its highest number of coronavirus hospitalizations in nearly a month, according to National Review. The state has had more than 2,000 new COVID-19 cases for 17 straight days as of Tuesday, the Mercury News reported.
Texas reported its largest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases Wednesday with 2,504, according to the Texas Tribune.
Hospitals in Arizona were told to activate their “emergency plans” due to a 115% spike in cases since May 15, Forbes reported.
“I would go so far as to say alarming,” Dr. William Hanage, an epidemiology professor at Harvard University, told AZCentral.com. “The only sort of crumb of comfort that I can find is that I think, in general, it’s sort of easier to social distance in Arizona than it is in some places.”
Cases in Florida rose more than 30% in the last week, which the state attributed to more testing, Reuters said.
Oregon, South Carolina and Alaska have doubled their number of infections in the last two weeks, NPR reported.
Mississippi broke its single-day record this week with 439 new cases, the Sun Herald reported.
“It seems that we, the U.S., has given up and accepted this disease as a facet of life,” Jeffrey Shaman of the Columbia University School of Public Health told NPR. “It didn’t have to be this way, and it still doesn’t going forward.”
The increase in cases comes as more states reopen businesses and lift restrictions that had been in place for months. Health officials have also expressed concern about the possibility of COVID-19 spreading as a result of large protests calling for racial justice following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
“I’m definitely worried,” Dr. Bill Miller the senior associate dean for research at Ohio State University’s college of public health, told NPR. “As places have been opening up, many people are taking it as a message that everything is OK and back to normal.”
This story was originally published June 11, 2020 at 7:29 AM with the headline "The US now has 2 million confirmed coronavirus cases. Some states are reporting surges."