22 states report an increase in coronavirus cases.
Governors seek to allay fears amid reopenings
Nearly half of the states in the U.S. are reporting a spike in new coronavirus cases, causing concern among health officials as most of the country continues to implement phased reopenings.
Florida, Texas and Arizona have seen the sharpest spikes.
Florida had another record day Tuesday with 2,783 additional confirmed cases of coronavirus, the largest singleday increase yet, pushing the state’s cumulative count past 80,000.
Another 55 deaths brought the number of fatalities from COVID-19 to 2,993, the state Health Department reported.
Florida has been on a two-week upswing in cases that corresponds with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ expanded economic reopening of the state and an increase in the daily number of tests being conducted for the virus.
Florida now has had 15 straight days of an additional 1,000-plus daily cases, with an unprecedented 2,000-plus daily cases reported Saturday and Sunday.
While public health officials have attributed the rise in cases at least partially to the social interactions now allowed in many states, DeSantis has cited more clustered outbreaks as a key driver.
And he’s not the only governor seeking to reassure his state. Texas saw 2,622 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, a record high.
Gov. Greg Abbott aimed to put the increase in perspective, attributing the numbers to certain counties reporting large batches of tests all at once, particularly from prisons and assisted living centers, which can skew statewide numbers.
He also gave no indication that the increase in cases and hospitalizations would slow the pace of reopening the state’s economy.
Roughly 2,500 COVID-19 patients were hospitalized in Texas on Tuesday, marking the fifth day in a row that the state has seen a record number of hospitalizations.
Despite the state’s sharp increase in hospitalizations from a month earlier, Abbott said with 14,993 treatment beds available statewide, “that’s really a very small percentage of all the beds that are available.”
Arizona reported a record-high 2,392 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, marking the first time the state has reported more than 2,000 new cases in a single day, according to state data.
Inpatient beds for people with suspected and confirmed COVID-19 hit a record number Monday, with 1,506 inpatients, according to hospital data reported to the state and posted on its website Tuesday.
In a briefing last week, Gov. Doug Ducey focused on hospital capacity, saying that although positive COVID-19 cases have been increasing, Arizona’s hospitals are prepared to handle more patients.