New US coronavirus cases rose by more than 47,000 on Tuesday, the biggest one-day spike since the start of the pandemic, as the government’s top infectious disease expert warned that number could soon double.
INTENSIVE CARE BEDS ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY
Coronavirus cases more than doubled in June in at least 10 states, including Texas and Florida, a Reuters tally showed. In parts of Texas and Arizona, hospital intensive care beds for coronavirus patients are in short supply.
More than 126,000 Americans have died from coronavirus and millions have lost their jobs as states and major cities ordered residents to stay home and businesses closed. The economy contracted sharply in the first quarter and is expected to crater in the second.
“TRUMP FAILED US”
The fresh rise in cases and hospitalizations has dimmed hopes that the worst of the human and economic pain had passed, prompting renewed criticism of US President Donald Trump as he seeks re-election on Nov. 3.
His rival, Democrat Joe Biden, on Tuesday said that Trump’s “historic mismanagement” of the pandemic cost lives and inflicted more damage than necessary to the US economy.
“It didn’t have to be this way. Donald Trump failed us,” the 77-year-old former vice president said in a speech in Delaware, where he unveiled an updated plan to tackle the pandemic calling for more testing and the hiring of 100,000 contract tracers.