So many new cases of the corona virus were registered in the United States on Wednesday. There are more cases than during the weeks in April when the United States was hit hardest by the pandemic.

The states most affected right now are Texas, Arizona, California and Florida, which are commonly referred to as the United States sun belt. But even Georgia, South Carolina and a number of other states are seeing an increase in the number of new cases.

A partial explanation is that the number being tested has increased, but in many places the number of patients in hospitals with covid-19 has also increased, including in Texas, where the Houston area is worst hit.

"We are overwhelmed"

Joseph Varon is chief medical officer at United Memorial Medical Center in North Houston. He's working a 20-hour workout right now. Here, as in most other hospitals in the area, the intensive care units are exhausted.

Now other departments are being transformed into intensive care units.

- A few months ago we saw this in New York. We are overwhelmed by the number of new patients coming to the hospital with severe cases of the coronavirus. If it continues like this, it can go to hell, he says.

Two weeks ago, more than 2,000 Texas residents were hospitalized with covid-19. Now that figure has increased to an average of nearly 7,000 for the past week, according to the Texas Department of Health.

- The patients we see today are ten times sicker than the patients we saw two months ago. Many patients come in late. They push it and think it's just a cold. And when they come here they are almost dead, says Joseph Varon.

Before curfew

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott has now ordered bars to close. In Arizona, gyms and movie theaters close, and in Florida, beaches are closed and a curfew during the upcoming US National Day on July 4th.

In total, some 20 states have paused reopening or reintroduced restrictions.