Infections rise as lockdowns ease
Worries about surge batter stock market; Dow drops nearly 7%
States are rolling back lockdowns, but the coronavirus isn’t done with the U.S.
Cases are rising in nearly half the states, according to an Associated Press analysis, a worrying trend that could intensify as people return to work and venture out during the summer.
In Arizona, hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst.
Texas has more hospitalized COVID-19 patients than at any time before. And the governor of North Carolina said recent jumps caused him to rethink plans to reopen schools or businesses.
There is no single reason for the surges. In some cases, more testing has revealed more cases. In others, local outbreaks are big enough to push statewide tallies higher. But experts think at least some are due to lifting stay-athome orders, school and business closures, and other restrictions put in place during the spring to stem the virus’s spread.
The increase in infections
pulled stocks down sharply Thursday on Wall Street, dragging the Dow Jones industrial average more than 1,800 points lower and giving the S&P 500 its worst day in nearly three months. The infections deflated recent optimism that the economy could recover quickly from its worst crisis in decades.
The virus is also gradually fanning out.
“It is a disaster that spreads,” said Dr. Jay Butler, who oversees coronavirus response work at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “It’s not like there’s an entire continental seismic shift and everyone feels the shaking all at once.”
That is also happening globally. Places that
suffered early on such as China, Italy and Spain have calmed down, but Brazil, India and other countries that were spared initially are seeing large increases. The world is seeing more than 100,000 newly confirmed cases every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
The virus first landed on the U.S. coasts, carried by international travelers infected abroad. For months, the epicenter was in northeastern states. More recently, the biggest increases have been in the South and the West.
The AP analyzed data compiled by The COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer organization that collects coronavirus testing data in the United States. The analysis found that in 21 states as of Monday, the rolling seven-day average of new cases per capita
was higher than the average seven days earlier.
Some worry the situation may get worse as social distancing restrictions lift and more people gather. One concern is that large recent racial justice protests across the country might spark at least some spread of the virus.
Another: President Donald Trump this week said he’s planning to hold rallies that may draw thousands of people. He will hold them in four states — Arizona, Florida, Oklahoma and Texas. All of them are among the states with rising cases identified in the AP analysis.
Here’s what’s driving increases in some of the states with notable upticks.
Arizona
Republican Gov. Doug Ducey ended Arizona’s stay-athome order on May 15 and
eased restrictions on businesses. Arizona residents who were cooped up for six weeks flooded Phoenix-area bar districts, ignoring social distancing guidelines.
The state began seeing a surge of new cases and hospitalizations about 10 days later.
North Carolina
More testing plus more people out and about during reopening seem to be the main drivers of recent case upticks, said Kimberly Powers, an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina.
On Saturday, the state recorded its highest singleday increase, with 1,370. While testing has grown in the last two weeks, so has the rate of tests coming back positive.
Texas
Few states are rebooting
faster than Texas, where hospitalizations surged past 2,100 on Wednesday for the first time during the pandemic. That’s a 42% increase in patients since Memorial Day weekend, when beachgoers swarmed Texas’ coastline and a water park near Houston opened to big crowds in defiance of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s orders.
Texas’ percentage of tests coming back positive has also jumped to levels that are among the nation’s highest. State officials point to hot spots at meatpacking plants and prisons in rural counties, where thousands of new cases have cropped up, but have not offered explanations for a rise in numbers elsewhere.
Alabama
Outbreaks in nursing homes and poultry plants helped drive state numbers
upward. On Wednesday, the state recorded its largest number of new cases in a day, 849. The previous high was 640 on June 5.
The capital, Montgomery, has become an emerging hot spot, said State Health Officer Scott Harris.
Looking ahead
Experts are wondering what will happen in the next week or so, in the wake of nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police.
The protests were outdoors, which reduces the likelihood of virus spread, and many participants have worn masks and taken other precautions. But it’s a lot of people close together, chanting, singing and yelling.
“Hopefully we won’t see a big spike. But those data aren’t in yet,” Humble said.