|
 The rally in global stocks came crashing down on Thursday over
worries of a pandemic resurgence. The last time the S&P 500 and Dow
fell as much in one day was in March, when U.S. coronavirus cases
began surging.
A recent spike in cases in about a dozen states partially reflects
increased testing. But many of those states are also seeing rising
hospitalizations and some are beginning to run short on intensive
care unit (ICU) beds.
Texas has seen record hospitalizations for three days in a row, and
in North Carolina only 13% of the state's ICU beds are available due
to severe COVID-19 cases. Houston's mayor said the city was ready to
turn its NFL stadium into a make-shift hospital if necessary.
Arizona has seen a record number of hospitalizations at 1,291. The
state health director told hospitals this week to activate emergency
plans and increase ICU capacity. About three-quarters of the state's
ICU beds are filled, according to the state website (https://www.azdhs.gov/
preparedness/epidemiology-disease-control/infectious-disease-epidemiology/covid-19/dashboards/index.php).
“You’re really crossing a threshold in Arizona," said Jared Baeten,
an epidemiologist at the University of Washington. "The alarming
thing would be if the numbers start to rise in places that have
clearly already peaked and are on their downtrend," he said,
referring to New York and other Northeastern states where new cases
and deaths have plummeted.
Health experts worry there could be a further rise in infections
from nationwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality
that packed people together starting two weeks ago.
STATES WITH RISING CASES
Arizona, Utah and New Mexico all posted rises in new cases of 40% or
higher for the week ended June 7, compared with the prior seven
days, according to a Reuters analysis. New cases rose in Florida,
Arkansas, South Carolina and North Carolina by more than 30% in the
past week.
(Open https://tmsnrt.rs/2WTOZDR in an external browser for a Reuters
interactive)
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. infectious disease official, told
Canada's CBC news that more cases are inevitable as restrictions are
lifted.
[to top of second column] |
"We also as a whole have been going down with cases," Fauci said. "But I think
what you mentioned about some states now having an increase in the number of
cases makes one pause and be a little bit concerned."
Even if hospitals are not overwhelmed by coronavirus cases, more
hospitalizations mean more deaths in the coming weeks and months, said Spencer
Fox, research associate at the University of Texas at Austin.
"We are starting to see very worrying signs about the course the pandemic is
taking in cities and states in the U.S. and around the world," he said. "When
you start seeing those signs, you need to act fairly quickly."
Total U.S. coronavirus deaths are now over 113,000, by far the most in the
world. That figure could exceed 200,000 at some point in September, Ashish Jha,
the head of Harvard's Global Health Institute, told CNN.
Jha said the United States was the only major country to reopen without getting
its case growth to a controlled level - defined as a rate of people testing
positive for the coronavirus remaining at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.
Nationally, that figure has been between 4% and 7% in recent weeks, according to
a Reuters analysis.
Health officials have stressed that wearing masks in public and keeping
physically apart can greatly reduce transmissions, but many states have not
required masks.
"I want the reopening to be successful," Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, the
top executive for the county that encompasses Houston, told reporters. "But I'm
growing increasingly concerned that we may be approaching the precipice of a
disaster."
(Reporting by Michael Erman and Carl O'Donnell in New York and Lisa Shumaker in
Chicago; Additional reporting by Lewis Krauskopf in New York and Brad Brooks in
Austin, Texas; Writing by Lisa Shumaker; editing by Peter Henderson and Bill
Berkrot)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
