US COVID-19 Cases Surpass 2 Million...Concerns Rise Over Second Wave Increase

Nearly 600,000 Increase Since Mid-May Lockdown Easing
Despite Second Wave Concerns...Political Circles Focus Only on Racism Issues

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] As the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 2 million, concerns about a second wave of infections are growing. Since the easing of lockdown measures in mid-May, nearly 600,000 new cases have been reported, and confirmed cases have started to rise again in 21 states across the U.S. Despite this, criticism is mounting that the U.S. political sphere is so preoccupied with racial discrimination issues that proper quarantine measures are not being implemented.

According to foreign media such as CNN on the 10th (local time), the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. exceeded 2 million by that day. Worldometer, a site that tracks global COVID-19 statistics, reported the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the U.S. as 2,064,071 and the cumulative death toll as 115,048. Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 statistics recorded 1,999,392 cumulative confirmed cases and 112,878 cumulative deaths. It is known that confirmed cases are rising again in 21 states across the U.S.

The cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the U.S. was around 1.44 million before the easing of lockdown measures on the 15th of last month, but increased by nearly 600,000 in less than a month. On that day, Arizona reported 1,556 new confirmed cases in a single day, marking the largest daily increase to date. Due to a shortage of hospital beds in Arizona, emergency measures were requested to be activated at each hospital. It is interpreted that COVID-19 rapidly spread amid the easing of lockdown measures and racial discrimination protests. Jay Butler, Deputy Director for Infectious Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said, "As long as there is a highly contagious virus and people who have no or weak immunity, this pandemic will continue."

Although concerns about a second wave are growing, criticism is emerging that the U.S. political sphere is so absorbed in the issue of racial discrimination protests that proper measures are not being taken. The New York Times (NYT), citing a senior White House official, pointed out that President Donald Trump and White House officials are participating in far fewer COVID-19 task force meetings and briefings than before, and that the U.S. Senate Health Committee and the House of Representatives are giving more importance to the George Floyd incident.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.