Published 12:15 IST, June 14th 2020
US reports 22,317 new coronavirus cases and 711 more deaths in 24 hours
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has warned that the COVID-19 cases could rise this summer as states start the process of reopening.
As of June 14, the United States recorded over 22,317 new cases of the novel coronavirus, surging the overall figures to 2,142,224 and as many as 711 new deaths occurred from the disease that put the COVID-19 death toll at 117,527. The highest single-day jump of new cases was recorded in states of California that detected over 2,906 new cases, Florida where more than 2,625 confirmed cases emerged, and Texas recorded over 1,636 fresh cases of the infections. The number of new cases spiked since May 2 that led the US health authorities to fear that the status of the pandemic was "winding backward" with a new surge in the numbers.
While The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned that the COVID-19 cases could rise this summer as states start the process of reopening, the White House Coronavirus Task Force specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci was quoted saying that a second wave in the US is "not inevitable." Further, the CDC estimated a projection figure of at least 130,000 US coronavirus deaths by July 4 as states reopened, which increased the risk of the resurgence of the disease, the CDC's deputy director for infectious diseases said during a press conference call.
Pandemic was 'far from over'
If anything, the country must be overprepared for what it might face later this year, Dr. Jay Butler said at the live-streamed press conference. He added, getting the flu vaccine would be more important than ever, as flu and Covid-19 could be circulating rapidly as the US moved into the fall and winter months. While the coronavirus continues to claims the lives worldwide unabated, as of June 14, crossing the 7 million infections mark and claiming over 4.5 million lives worldwide, Butler warned that the pandemic was “far from over”.
In other looming concern, the health experts in the US feared that the attempts to reopen shuttered state economies and mass social unrest over racial injustice as people crowded the streets with inadequate social distancing, could trigger a “second wave”. The director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, doctor Anthony Fauci, said in a televised interview, “When you start to see increases in hospitalization, that’s a sure-fire situation that you’ve got to pay close attention to”. Further, he stressed that the country will “inevitably” have a second wave of the coronavirus infections in the fall.
(Image Credit: AP)
Updated 12:15 IST, June 14th 2020