State Update: Where U.S. Coronavirus Cases are on the Rise, Coronavirus Cases Rise in U.S. South and West, Coronavirus Cases in Austin, Texas have Significantly Increased Since Reopening
June 3, 2020
- Several southern U.S. states reported sharp increases in COVID-19 infections, with Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia all seeing new cases rise 35% or more in the week ended May 31 compared with the prior week, according to a Reuters analysis. South Carolina health officials said they expected more increases in the future due to a lack of social distancing and mask wearing at protests triggered by the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minnesota.
- Coronavirus cases continued to spread in parts of the American south and west in the past week as experts warn that packed protests could exacerbate the pandemic. The early parts of the American coronavirus outbreak struck hardest in the dense metropolitan areas on the coasts. But the last few weeks have seen wider spread in inland states, including Arkansas, Texas and Arizona. In Arkansas on Tuesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said there were 375 new positive coronavirus tests, the highest single-day number of new community cases. There are currently more people hospitalized with COVID-19 there than at any prior point.
- Health officials in one Texas city are concerned by a surge in newly confirmed coronavirus cases since beginning to reopen additional businesses. Coronavirus cases in Austin have trended “steadily upward” since the city began reopening retail stores, restaurants, malls, and movie theaters at the beginning of May, the Austin American-Statesman reported. What’s more, the true number of coronavirus cases in the state's capital could be seven to eight times higher than current statistics represent, according to the newspaper.
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