Coronavirus surges in US as reopening stalls

The number of new coronavirus cases registered in the US fell below 40,000 for the first time in four days yesterday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. However, with 36,490 new cases on Monday and the total number of recorded cases now standing at over 2.5 million, the situation remains grave.

Speaking today CDC principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, warned that the USA had “way too much virus” to be able to effectively contain it.

States in the south have been particularly badly affected according to the Covid Tracking Project. Western states have also been hard hit. The surge in cases has been widely attributed to rushed exists from lockdown.

Indeed, the states experiencing the biggest surges in new cases – Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas – have all started to roll back their re-openings. Meanwhile, hospitals in all of these states are reporting they are under severe strain as they struggle to deal with the current coronavirus wave. Arizona has already authorised “crisis care standards” in its hospitals. This allows scarce resources to be allocated based on the likelihood of a patient’s survival.

California is keeping the renewed clampdown to a county level. Bars have been ordered to close in seven counties. This includes Los Angeles, which hit a daily record of 2,903 new cases identified Monday, having already reported more coronavirus cases overall than any other US county.

A number of other states – including Nevada, Arkansas, and North Carolina – have hit pause on their re-opening plans in response to the coronavirus surge. As a result, 40% of the US population now lives in states where re-openings have either been paused or cancelled.

Some north-eastern states, which have seen the number of new cases drop, have also swung into action, trying to pre-empt a potential second wave. New Jersey paused plans to reopen indoor dining in restaurants. New York is also considering such a move.

The change comes as growing evidence suggests that restaurants are key vectors in spreading the infection. J P Morgan’s analysis of credit card spending found that increased spending in restaurants closely correlated with subsequent spikes in coronavirus cases.

In a potentially related phenomenon the average age of people catching coronavirus has also recently dropped in several states. It has been suggested this is because young adults have been more willing to go back to normal, crowding back into bars and restaurants as restrictions ease, and taking fewer precautions as they feel relatively safe.

New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, having brought their Covid-19 outbreaks under relative control, are also imposing quarantines on travellers from states. Anyone entering from a state where more than 10% of coronavirus tests are coming back positive will have to self-isolate for fourteen days under the new rules. Currently sixteen states are subject to this precautionary measure.

A growing number of states are also requiring face masks to be worn in public in order to check the spread of coronavirus. Oregon and Kansas are the most recent adopters of this regulation. A Goldman Sachs study found that a federal face mask mandate could present a 5% hit to US GDP by helping limit the spread.

However, mask-wearing has also become the subject of a growing culture war. Masks are decried by some on the right as an attack on freedom, while others have circulated conspiracy theories about their supposed nefarious purpose.

The growing atmosphere of polarisation and hysteria surrounding the virus in America is also worrying health authorities. Dr Anthony Fauci, who has helped lead the US response to coronavirus, expressed concern that when a coronavirus vaccine is finally developed many people might refuse the shot.

Speaking yesterday, Dr Fauci stated “There is a general anti-science, anti-authority, anti-vaccine feeling among some people in this country – an alarmingly large percentage of people, relatively speaking.”