The coronavirus or COVID-19 deaths in the US rose by over 25,000 in July and the cases doubled in the 19 states during this month, as per a Reuters tally, dealing a crushing blow to the hopes of quickly reopening the economy.
The United States confirmed 1.87 million new cases of the virus outbreak in July, taking the total number of infections to 4.5 million, for a rise of 69 percent. Deaths in July increased 20 percent to almost 154,000 in total.
COVID-19 in US
The biggest increases in July were in Florida, with over 310,000 new cases, followed by California and Texas with about 260,000 each. All three states saw cases double in June. Cases also more than doubled in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, according to the tally.
Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York had the lowest increases, with cases rising eight percent or less. The United States shattered single-day global records when it reported over 77,000 new cases on July 16. During July, 33 out of the 50 U.S. states had one-day record increases in cases and 19 set records for their rise in deaths in 24 hours, according to a Reuters tally.
After a rapid acceleration in cases, the outbreak appears to be stabilizing in Arizona, Florida, and Texas. Health officials are now concerned the outbreak has migrated to the Midwest from summer travel. The news that more states could be hard hit by the virus comes a day after the U.S. reported that gross domestic product collapsed at a 32.9 percent annualized rate in the second quarter, the nation's worst economic performance since the Great Depression.
(With agency inputs)
