After reopening plans have been instituted around the country, nearly half of U.S. states are reporting a rise in positive coronavirus cases. Young Americans have contributed the most to new cases as they have begun ignoring social distancing policies, CNN reports.
What We Know:
- Florida just surpassed 100,000 total coronavirus cases, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health. On Saturday, the state reported 4,049 new cases – the most reported in a single day.
- Some say the new rise in cases points to America’s inability to control the pandemic, calling attention to areas in Europe and Asia where procedures were put in place to stop the spread and cases have declined since.
- “I don’t think we have the luxury of talking about a second wave right now because we have not gotten out of the first wave,” Said Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent. “It’s not clear that we will get out of the first wave. Instead of actually having a true ebb and flow, it may just be micro and macro peaks for the foreseeable future.”
- Michael Osterholm, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, compared the virus to a forest fire. “I think that wherever there’s wood to burn, this fire’s going to burn — and right now we have a lot of susceptible people,” he stated.
- The major concern is among America’s youth. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said people under 30 made up a majority of new coronavirus cases in several counties, possibly because of Memorial Day parties, trips to bars, and other activities similar to these.
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Saturday cases are “shifting in a radical direction” toward populations in their 20s and 30s.
- Young people are less likely to see serious outcomes from the virus, but they can transmit the diseases to those who can. “They get infected first, then they come home, and then they infect the older people. The older people get the complications, and then they go to the hospitals,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said. “The death rate always lags several weeks behind the infection rate.”
23 states have reported a rise in cases while 17 have shown a decline.
