The finding is alarming in the United States, even if Donald Trump still pretends to ignore it. According to a latest report from Johns Hopkins University, 39,379 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours were identified in the country, with a total of 2,876,143 people affected by the coronavirus. The epidemic has left 129,891 dead so far, including 234 in the past 24 hours.
This dramatic increase is regularly downplayed by Donald Trump. Again, on Saturday, the President of the United States estimated that the country was "on the verge" of emerging from this health crisis. "Our country is back, the employment figures are spectacular," he said in a video message. At the same time, while refusing to contradict the president's remarks, the head of the American drug agency (FDA) Stephen Hahn urged, on Sunday, all Americans to "take this situation seriously".
Hospitals on the brink of saturation
On the ground, many elected officials are sounding the alarm about the saturation of hospitals. Steve Adler, the Democratic mayor of the Texan city of Austin described the tone of the president as "dangerous" for the inhabitants of his city whose resuscitation services are likely to be overwhelmed "within ten days".
"If we don't change course, our hospitals could be overcrowded in two weeks," he said on CNN.
It is true that for the festivities on July 4, many residents took advantage of the beach or a family reunion, without really worrying about the health situation. This was the case as elsewhere on the New York beach of Coney Island, reopened for swimming since Wednesday. Many families had come to enjoy the sun and a picnic while forgetting to wear masks for sunbathing.
Elected officials plead for reconfiguration
Elsewhere, other elected officials plead for the return of confinement. Kate Gallego, the mayor of Phoenix believes that the state of Arizona "reopened far too early". "What we need now is to do what works, containment," said Lina Hidalgo, a senior county official who includes the city of Houston, home of the Texas epidemic.
Already in an attempt to control the spread of the virus, which the authorities admit they do not fully control, some states have interrupted their deconfinement, or even have gone backwards. This weekend, the beaches of Los Angeles were closed again and Miami under curfew.
