Texas pauses reopening as coronavirus cases surge

DALLAS: The governor of Texas has halted the state’s reopening on Thursday in response to the increase in Covid-19 infections and hospitalisations temporarily. The US has seen a sharp rise in the number of infections, mainly in southern and western states. Texas reported the highest single day jump with more than 6,000 cases on June 22^nd.

The number of hospitalisations has almost tripled since May 31 in Houston. According to a local media report, the ICU capacity at a medical center in the city has reached 100 percent and the beds in a children’s hospital are being given to admit adult patients.

Greg Abbott, Governor, Texas, urged the residents to do their part by wearing a mask and washing their hands on a regular basis.

Many of the states that saw a spike in cases were among the first to resume economic activities. Some experts have suggested reevaluating the reopening as cases surged across the United States by at least 39,818 on June 24, the biggest one-day increase of the pandemic.

The record rises this week were reported from Alabama, Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wyoming. While some of the increase in the number of cases can be attributed to more testing, the percentage of positive results is also climbing.