21 U.S. states in ‘red zone’ with surging COVID-19 cases

New York: A new federal report published by The New York Times has found that 21 U.S. states now have coronavirus outbreaks serious enough to place them in the government’s so-called “red zone.”

Those states have been designated as in the “red zone,” because they had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the week ending July 24.

The list of states includes Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wisconsin.

Currently, Vermont is the only state in the “green zone” category, with less than 10 cases per 100,000 people.

The remaining 28 states and the District of Columbia were placed in the “yellow zone.”

The report considers some hard-hit local areas in those states to be in the “red zone” as well.

The federal government prepares regular reports on the response to the coronavirus.

The report, dated July 26, which contained profiles of each state, were distributed to state officials by the White House’s coronavirus task force and obtained by The New York Times.

The report has recommended that more restrictions be put in place in “red zone” states.

Mask mandates were consistently recommended for states and cities where the virus is spreading.

Noting that Arizona, included in the “red zone,” had seen cases growth slowing in recent days, the report credited the state for its “aggressive mitigation efforts of mask wearing, social distancing and closing bars.”

As of Wednesday afternoon, there have been more than 4,390,000 COVID-19 cases, with over 150,000 deaths in the United States.