- Nine states have seen an increase in hospitalized coronavirus patients with a general rise in new confirmed cases since Memorial Day weekend, The Washington Post reported.
- Texas reported a 36% increase in cases and Arkansas reported an 88% increase in hospitalizations since the holiday.
- There are 1,956,421 active cases across the United States as of Wednesday morning, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Twelve states are reporting their highest averages of new coronavirus cases while hospitalizations have spiked in at least nine states since Memorial Day weekend.
The spikes in hospitalized coronavirus patients generally began in the past two weeks in Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas and Utah while other states have seen an increased number of positive cases, The Washington Post reported.
“California’s COVID-19 test positivity rates and hospitalizations continue to be in the stable range. We have seen cases increase in some areas, which is expected as testing capacity increases and people leave home more, but we are prepared for that,” Dr. Sonia Angell, director of the California Department of Public Health, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The California Department of Public Health supports the “right of individuals to demonstrate,” and encourages everyone to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and to get tested if symptoms develop or if an individual has been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, Angell said.
Texas reported an increased seven-day average of new cases, bringing the state to a total of 75,616 cases since the pandemic began, according to WaPo. The state reported two consecutive days of record-breaking coronavirus hospitalizations, with a 36% increase in new cases since Memorial Day.
Texas hospitals are almost 72% full with 1,723 beds available in ICU units, a state official said, adding that every Texan who needs a hospital stay will be ensured a bed.
“Since Texas opened on May 1, testing has increased by 210 percent, the doubling time has gone from 20 days to 36 days, and the state continues to have one of the lowest death rates in the nation. Every Texan who needs access to a hospital bed will have access to a hospital bed,” John Wittman, spokesman for Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, told the DCNF.
He added: “Current hospital capacity includes 15,402 available beds, 1,723 ICU beds and 5,911 ventilators, with the ability to surge capacity in regions across the state if necessary.”
Arizona care facilities have 21% of all ICU beds in the state available, according to data from the state’s health department.
In 13 of the past 15 days in Arizona, the state’s seven-day average of new cases has increased, WaPo reported. The state reported a 49% increase in hospitalizations since Memorial Day, with a total of 28,296 cases statewide.
Arkansas reported an 88% increase in hospitalizations since Memorial Day, contributing to the state’s 10,080 cases, according to WaPo.
The increase in cases was not linked to recent protests, and hospitals remained below capacity, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette reported.
North Carolina reported 1,370 new cases, its highest number of new laboratory-confirmed cases in one day on June 6, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Kelly Connor told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“COVID-19 hospitalizations are increasing; today (June 9) we have 774 currently hospitalized statewide and the percent of tests that were positive climbed to 10 percent,” Connor added.
“One of the drivers of these increases is more movement of people across North Carolina; another is increasing testing,” Connor said. “It takes about two weeks to see the impact of a change in policy or an outbreak from an event … This is important to note because about two weeks ago, on May 22, North Carolina moved to Phase 2 of reopening.”
South Carolina saw a 6% increase in cases in a 24-hour period, according to WaPo. The state reported a total of 507 cases, and 12 counties having reached around 75% hospital capacity. (RELATED: WHO Walks Back Statement That Asymptomatic Coronavirus Transmission Is ‘Very Rare,’ Now Says It Could Be Around 40%)
Mississippi saw a 17% increase in cases after Memorial Day, recording 671 hospitalizations, bringing the state’s total number of reported cases to 18,109.
Utah’s reported case numbers have increased since Memorial Day while hospitalizations doubled in the past two weeks, according to WaPo. There were 230 patients hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon.
There are 1,956,421 active cases in the United States as of Wednesday morning, up 17,598 from Tuesday, with 110,925 total deaths, the CDC reported.
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