Shomporko Desk:-The United States reported record new daily coronavirus infections, surpassing 50,000 cases a day for the first time, underlining the difficulties still ahead as nations press to reopen their virus-devastated economies.
The U.S. recorded 50,700 new cases, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University, the same number of states attempted to contain the spread of the pandemic, accused partially on Americans not wearing masks or following social distancing rules.
Surging numbers in California prompted Gov. Gavin Newsom to announce just ahead of the Fourth of July weekend that he was closing bars, theatres and indoor restaurant dining over most of the state, a region that includes about 30 million people and Los Angeles County.
Confirmed cases in California have increased nearly 50% over the past two weeks, and COVID-19 hospitalizations have gone up 43%. Newsom said California had nearly 5,900 new cases and 110 more deaths in just 24 hours.
Infections have been surging in many other states as well, including Florida, Arizona and Texas. Florida recorded more than 6,500 new cases and counties in South Florida were closing beaches to fend off large July Fourth crowds that could further spread the virus.
Despite the fact that the U.S. has the highest number of infections and deaths in the world by far, President Donald Trump seemed confident the coronavirus would soon subside.
The U.S. has now reported nearly 2.7 million cases and more than 128,000 dead. Globally there have been 10.7 million coronavirus cases and more than 516,000 dead, according to Johns Hopkins’ count. The true toll of the pandemic is believed to be significantly higher, in part because of limited testing and mild cases that have been missed.
Despite the spike in many U.S. states, several eastern states have seen their new infections slow down significantly, including New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Jersey, which was going ahead Thursday with allowing its famous Atlantic City casinos to reopen.
Photo credit: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
News source: AP
