Coronavirus: 18 US States Report Spike In COVID-19 Cases After Relaxations Set In; Governors Warn Of Dire Consequences

The economic reopening strategies seem to have backfired in the United States, as people getting back to normal routines have led to a surge in the COVID-related infections in at least 18 states over the last two weeks.

Experts across the United States are attributing several reasons to the sudden uptick -- expanded testing capabilities, heightened transmission owing to the renewed access to public places.

“The high number of new cases is not just related to more testing,” said North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper on Friday. “These numbers show the disease is spreading, and that more people need hospital care,” Roy added.

Expressing concern over the distressing rise, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci opined that the higher hospitalizations could be indicative of something going really wrong in terms of eased relaxations.

States to be worse-hit by the reopening strategies are California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Oregon, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Alaska, Hawaii, Utah, Georgia, Wyoming and Washington.

As per a news report, the cases doubled in Florida and rose by about 15% in Arizona in the first week of June, with numbers surpassing the average jump, amid the reopening. The situation continues to be grim in Texas as well, with daily diagnoses piquing and having crossed 2,000 mark.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee warned people of dire consequences and will “soon increase substantially” if due efforts weren’t undertaken to contain the spread. "Washingtonians have done the hard work to flatten the curve on COVID-19 and we know this has been tremendously difficult for families, businesses, and communities over the past few months," Inslee said. “But today's report shows us there is still reason for strong concern in parts of our state,” he added.

Incidentally, New York exhibited a different picture altogether and reported its lowest fatality roll on Sunday since the outbreak. Even the virus-related hospitalizations saw a sharp decline. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo maintained that the state-wide patient admissions recorded a surprisingly low figure of 1,657 -- the lowest as compared to any other day after March 20.

Despite the significant progress in curbing the contagion, Cuomo urged people to continue practicing precaution, wear face masks and maintain social distancing every time they stepped out.