US hit by Covid resurgence
Hospital administrators and health experts warned desperately that parts of the United States are on the verge of becoming overwhelmed by a resurgence of the coronavirus, lamenting that politicians and a tired-of-beingcooped-up public are letting a disaster unfold.
Across the US, more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments earlier this week, according to The Washington Post, surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25.
While newly confirmed infections have been declining steadily in early hot spots such as New York and New Jersey, several other states set single-day records this week, including Arizona, California, Mississippi, Nevada, Texas and Oklahoma. Some of them also broke hospitalisation records, as did North Carolina and South Carolina.
‘‘People got complacent,’’ said Dr Marc Boom, chief executive of the Houston Methodist hospital system. ‘‘And it’s coming back and biting us, quite frankly.’’
The stock market slid sharply yesterday as the virus’s resurgence clouded investors’
hopes for a relatively quick economic turnaround. The virus in the US has been blamed for over 120,000 deaths, the highest toll in the world, and over 2.3 million confirmed infections.
Tulsa, Oklahoma health officials reported a record spike in Covid-19 cases in the county but said it’s too soon to attribute any increase in infections to US President Donald Trump’s campaign rally.
The Oklahoma State Department of Health reported a one-day record increase of 482 new Covid19 cases, bringing the confirmed total to at least 11,510. Department director Bruce Dart says the new cases have been linked to gatherings such as funerals, weddings and people going to bars.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum says he’s concerned that residents of the city are getting lax in their daily lives, not socially distancing, not wearing face masks, or frequently washing hands. He says the uptick began long before the rally.
California reported over 7100 new cases, a record. Florida’s single-day count surged to 5500, a 25 per cent jump from the record set last week and triple the level from just two weeks ago. In Texas hospitalisations have doubled and new cases have tripled in two weeks.
In Arizona, cases will probably exceed statewide hospital bed capacity within the next several weeks if the trend continues, said Dr Joseph Gerald, a public health policy professor.
‘‘We are in deep trouble,’’ he said, urging the state to impose new restrictions on businesses.– AP
‘‘We are in deep trouble.’’ Dr Joseph Gerald Public health professor