US states see major spike in infections

T roubling spikes in coronavirus infection rates were reported on Friday in several US states, mainly in the South and West.

Wall Street jitters over a resurgence in Covid-19 cases as states moved to reopen long-stifled commerce and ease social-distancing measures helped drive down major US stock indices, reversing earlier gains.

Experts say expanded diagnostic testing accounts for some, but not all, of the growth in cases — numbering at least 2.23 million nationwide on Friday — and that the mounting volume of infections was elevating hospitalisations in some places.

“Clearly the cases are rising rapidly. It’s not just a matter of testing more,” said Dr. Murtaza Akhter, an emergency room physician at Arizona hospitals, noting the lag time between a positive test and severe illness or death. “The real concern is what is coming up for us in the next week or two.”

He said the latest wave of cases has put Arizona’s major hospitals at or near capacity, and placed the Southwestern state on track to surpass New York at its peak on a per-capita basis.

More than 119,000 Americans have perished from Covid-19 to date, according to Reuters’ running tally.

Particularly alarming has been the upward trends several states are reporting i n the percentage of positive tests among individuals who are screened, a metric experts refer to as the positivity rate.

The World Health Organization considers positivity rates above 5 per cent to be especially concerning, and widely watched data from Johns Hopkins University shows 16 states with average rates over the past week exceeding that level and climbing.

Wall Street jitters over a resurgence in Covid-19 cases helped drive down major US stock indices, reversing earlier gains