The latest data by Johns Hopkins University shows that at least 34,700 new cases of the virus were reported in the US on Wednesday, the highest daily total since April 24, when 36,400 new cases were reported.
Even though New York, the state which suffered the worst outbreak in the US, has seen a decrease in its number of cases, other states like Arizona, Florida, Texas and California are all experiencing surges in case numbers.
Florida saw 5,511 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, which marks the highest number of daily new cases in the state since the beginning of the outbreak.
South Florida is the most impacted part of the state, with at least 473 new cases reported Wednesday in Broward County, which increased the total number of cases in the county to 12,217. Palm Beach County and Miami-Dade County have also seen jumps in COVID-19 infection numbers, recording almost 400 and 1,000 new cases on Wednesday, respectively.
According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the majority of new cases this month have been among 25- to 34-year-olds.
California and Texas also each reported more than 5,000 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday.
“In some respects, we’ve done very well,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told lawmakers during a House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday.
“However, in other areas of the country, we are now seeing a disturbing surge of infections that looks like it’s a combination, but one of the things is an increase in community spread. And that’s something I’m really quite concerned about.”
The US is not the only country to be experiencing spikes of COVID-19 cases.
More than 500,000 Germans have been placed back under lockdown after cases surged in two districts, Gütersloh and Warendorf, in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, BBC reported Tuesday. The outbreak is Gütersloh has been linked to a meatpacking plant where more than 1,500 employees tested positive for COVID-19, and the restrictions will remain in place until June 30.
Portugal also imposed new lockdown restrictions this week in five municipalities in the region of the country’s capital of Lisbon. People will not be allowed to congregate in groups of more than 10, and all shops, except restaurants, will have to be closed by 8 p.m. local time, Anadolu Agency reported.
The country has experienced a surge of new cases this week, with the majority of new infections being recorded in the Lisbon region.
The latest data by Worldometer shows that more than 9.4 million cases of the virus have been confirmed worldwide, and more than 482,000 people have died as a result.
