Coronavirus cases, hospitalizations on the rise in California, Arizona and Texas

As cities all around the country have opened up after quarantines due to the coronavirus pandemic, those reopenings are coming at a cost of a surge in cases. Texas, Arizona, and California are the three states leading the country in new cases and, even more disturbing, are experiencing a surge in hospitalizations.

READ MORE: Coronavirus cases top 120K in U.S. 

NBC News reports that as cases decline in the Northeast, which were on strict lockdown for over two months, cases are exploding in the South and the Western parts of the country.

California was just deemed the nation’s leader in coronavirus cases, despite the strict lockdown imposed in March. According to ABC News, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state’s cases jumped 69% in just two days. Most of those cases are concentrated in Los Angeles county, public health reports say.

California has reopened to some degree. Beaches, public pools, bars wineries, and gyms are among the businesses that have reopened. Clubs, concert halls, youth sports leagues, and movie theaters are still closed.

In Arizona, there were 144 more hospitalizations from Sunday to Wednesday, according to public health records. And the state’s ICU units and hospital beds are operating at more than 80% capacity.

“We’ve increased testing in Arizona 600 percent since April 15, we’ve more than doubled testing since we lifted the stay-at-home order, so we’re going to continue the focus there,” Arizona Governor Doug Ducey said. “But we’re also seeing an increase in positivity, which tells us that the virus continues to spread.”

Cases are spreading in the 20-44 demographic, Ducey said. Despite that Ducey blocked state lawmakers from mandating mask-wearing but has since reversed his policy.

In Texas, despite an average of 3500 new cases per day and record hospitalizations, Gov. Greg Abbott says shutting down the state again would be a ‘last option.’

“To state the obvious, COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled,” Gov. Greg Abbott said.

He asked Texans to continue to observe social distancing, handwashing and said that outdoor gatherings could be restricted to less than 100 people while encouraging people to stay home if they could.

“Because the spread is so rampant right now, there is never a reason for you to have to leave your home unless you do need to go out,” Abbott told KBTX TV. “The safest place for you is at your home.”

Their governors, including New York’s Andrew Cuomo, have no real enforcement capability but are asking people to comply.

Public health experts continue to warn that reopenings and people’s fatigue with the restrictions of the last few months will continue to cause an uptick in virus cases.

“The virus is not going to disappear.”

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