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 The uptick in cases, which could lead authorities to reimpose or
tighten public health restrictions aimed at slowing the virus'
spread, complicates efforts to reopen the U.S. economy, which has
been devastated by shelter-at-home rules.
New Jersey, one of the states hit hardest by the pandemic, with over
12,000 deaths, lifted its stay-at-home order on Tuesday.
More than 18 million of California's 39 million residents live in
counties now on the watch list, which includes Los Angeles, Santa
Clara and Fresno, a Reuters analysis showed.
"Many of the cases that are showing up in hospitals are linked to
gatherings that are taking place in homes - birthday parties and
funerals," said Olivia Kasirye, public health director of Sacramento
County, one of the nine counties on the state watch list that may
eventually require them to roll back reopening efforts.
Arizona was among the first states to reopen in mid-May and its
cases have increased 115% since then, leading a former state health
chief to warn that a new stay-at-home order or field hospitals may
be needed.
According to a Reuters tally, there were 1,983,825 coronavirus cases
in the United States and 111,747 deaths as of Tuesday.
21 STATES SEE INCREASES
On Tuesday, 21 U.S. states reported weekly increases in new cases of
COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all posted rises of 40% or higher for
the week ended Sunday, compared with the prior seven days, according
to a Reuters analysis.
Some of the new cases are linked to better testing. But many stem
from loosened public health restrictions that have allowed people to
gather in groups and go inside stores to shop, said public health
officers in two California counties.
Health officials believe other cases have been passed along by
people not following social-distancing recommendations. It is too
soon to see whether cases will also spike after protests swept the
country over the May 25 death in Minneapolis police custody of
George Floyd, an African-American man, officials said.
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The number of new infections in the first week of June rose 3% in the United
States, the first increase after five weeks of declines, according to an
analysis of data from the COVID Tracking Project, a volunteer-run effort to
track the outbreak.
But pressure to reopen economies is great, and states continued to lift
coronavirus-related restrictions on Tuesday.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said indoor crowds such as those attending
religious services in churches, synagogues and mosques may include up to 50
people and outdoor gatherings could swell to 100 people.
In Washington state, the site of one of the earliest outbreaks of COVID-19,
Governor Jay Inslee said nannies, housekeepers and personal chefs could go back
to work, and people from different households could ride in the same golf cart.
University of Washington researchers estimated on Monday that 145,728 people
could die of COVID-19 in the United States by August, raising their forecast by
over 5,000 fatalities in a matter of days. The model changes as researchers take
fresh account of people's mobility as stay-at-home orders change.
For a graphic on Tracking the novel coronavirus in the U.S.:
https://graphics.reuters.com/
HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-USA/0100B5K8423/index.html
For a World-focused tracker with country-by-country:
https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/
COUNTRIES/oakveqlyvrd/index.html?id=united-kingdom
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