Ten US states have seen a record number of new Covid-19 cases this week amid the rapid easing of lockdown restrictions.
The states are seeing their highest seven-day average of new coronavirus cases per day since the pandemic started months ago, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
The states seeing record-high averages are Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Texas.
While some politicians have attributed the figures to better testing, the surges are outpacing the increase in tests, Dr Ezekiel Emanuel, chairman of the Department of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, said.
Florida has “all the markings of the next large epicentre of coronavirus transmission”, and risks being the “worst it has ever been”, according to projections from a model put together by a team of scientists at the university.
The sunshine state reported more than 2,600 new cases yesterday, its second highest daily increase.
In Oklahoma Donald Trump is planning a campaign rally on Saturday at a 19,000-capacity arena, the biggest such indoor event in the US since the pandemic hit in March.
Dr Anthony Fauci, head of the White House coronavirus taskforce, expressed concern about the infection hotspots, adding that he would “personally” not attend the rally.
