On July 2, 55274 new cases of COVID-19 were identified in the United States. Thus, the United States broke the record for daily increase in the incidence of coronavirus. Such statistics are cited by Western media - Reuters and The Washington Post.

At the same time, a slightly different figure appears on the WHO website: for July 2, 43556 confirmed cases of coronavirus were detected in the USA, which is 7799 cases (or 21.81%) more than July 1.

According to Reuters, the largest increase in incidence is observed in 37 out of 50 states. So, in Texas over the past day, 8 thousand new infections were identified. Republican Governor Greg Abbott has introduced a mandatory mask regimen for counties with the highest incidence rates. The politician hopes that it will be possible to stop the spread of the virus without introducing strict quarantine measures.

“The past few weeks have seen a rapid and significant jump in the incidence of coronavirus. We must again focus on slowing the spread of the disease (disease. - RT ). But this time we want to do this without closing Texas (in quarantine. - RT ), ”the governor said.

  • Texas Governor Greg Abbott
  • Reuters
  • © Lucas Jackson

In California, where infection rates are also high, authorities ordered bars and other food services to be closed again. On June 2, the state recorded 9,352 new cases.

“We have not yet emerged from the crisis, have not even passed the first wave. A high level of personal responsibility needs to be shown, ”said California Governor Democrat Gavin Newsome at a daily briefing on coronavirus.

Also, about 10 thousand new cases of coronavirus were detected on July 2 in the state of Florida, despite the fact that a day earlier this figure was 6563 cases. An increase is also noted in Georgia, where on July 1, coronavirus was detected in 2976 people, and on July 2, already in 3472 patients.

High pace

Speaking this week in the Senate, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the United States, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that the rate of spread of coronavirus could reach 100 thousand cases per day. According to the expert, the main reason for such a rapid spread of infection in the USA is the untimely and insufficient quarantine measures taken at the beginning of the pandemic. According to Fauci, if in Europe the level of population isolation in the first period of the pandemic reached 95%, then in the United States this figure did not exceed 50%.

“Look at the Europeans - they were able to significantly omit the curve (sick schedule. - RT ). When the curve is below, it’s much easier to control the bursts of incidence that occur during the removal of restrictions. If you look at our curve, you will see that it has reached a peak, decreased slightly and remained at the same level for some time, and recently jumped again. In such circumstances, working is much more difficult, since we seem to be chasing problems instead of resolving them purposefully. Because of what happened at an early stage, we are now in a difficult situation, ”Fauchi said in an interview with NPR.

  • Doctors with a Coronavirus-Infected Patient, Houston, Texas, June 29, 2020
  • Reuters
  • © Callaghan O'Hare

Nevertheless, in his opinion, the United States can still avoid re-introducing quarantine, but for this it is necessary to follow a number of rules. In particular, in the current environment, people need to abide by the rules of social distance and wear masks.

Note that the G614 strain of coronavirus spreading today in the USA is more contagious than the initial “modification" of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, American scientists note that the mutated strain has virtually replaced its predecessor. In this case, the disease caused by a new strain of infected, as a rule, is easier to carry.

“A virus that quickly kills its owner does not spread widely, but a virus that allows its owner to do its own thing spreads much better — like a cold,” said Erica Allmann Sapphire, professor at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

According to WHO, to date, 10 719 946 cases of COVID-19 infection have been recorded in the world. Moreover, the number of victims exceeded half a million people.

Most cases of the disease are registered in the New World - in total, 5445710 cases of the disease occur in North and South America. In Europe today there are 2747810 infected.

The most alarming situation is in Brazil, where the total number of cases reached 1,448,753, and the daily increase is now about 9 thousand cases. For all the time, 60,632 people infected with coronavirus died in Brazil. 

In India, a large increase in the incidence of coronavirus began in May, to date in the country 625,544 confirmed cases of the disease with 18,213 deaths. Over the past day, 19148 patients infected with coronavirus were identified in the country, the daily increase amounted to 495 cases.

A difficult situation is also developing in Mexico, where 235,170 cases of coronavirus infection accounted for 28,510 deaths. At the same time, the epidemic is also not declining here: on July 2, the number of cases increased by 5432 people, which is 1627 cases higher than the figure for July 1.

Victims of big politics

Another increase in the spread of coronavirus in the United States began after the weakening of quarantine measures taken in all states of the country at the end of May. At that time, the number of deaths from COVID-19 in the United States was close to 100 thousand, despite the fact that a total of 1.6 million people fell ill with the coronavirus.

However, these statistics did not have the desired effect - as soon as the authorities slightly relaxed quarantine measures, citizens discarded any safety measures such as maintaining social distance and wearing masks and began to gather in large numbers on beaches and other public spaces. 

  • Beach in California, July 1, 2020
  • Reuters
  • © Mike Blake

A surge in the incidence rate was already observed in mid-June - specialists at Johns Hopkins University, collecting statistics on COVID-19, drew attention to this trend.

So, in Arizona, a record was set for the number of hospitalized per day, which reached almost 1.3 thousand people, state hospitals had to work in emergency mode.

“Arizona has crossed the threshold. The situation will be very alarming if the number of cases starts to increase in those states where the peak has already been clearly passed and the incidence is on the decline, ”then warned the University of Washington epidemiologist Jared Beiten.

The increase in cases of coronavirus infection is also attributed by analysts to the mass protests that swept the United States in late May. The impetus for street appearances was the death of 46-year-old African American George Floyd, who died after he was detained by Minneapolis police.

At the same time, US Vice President Mike Pence said earlier that the authorities did not note the increase in new cases of infection in connection with the protests. The politician noted that many protesters wear masks and try to maintain social distance. 

Meanwhile, according to the former chief sanitary officer of Russia, State Duma deputy Gennady Onishchenko, the protests definitely played a role in worsening the epidemiological situation in the country.

“The coronavirus mainly affected large cities, in particular, New York, New Jersey, where the African-American population is concentrated. Also, the fact that a significant part of the US population is not provided with health insurance played a role. And the political struggle plays a huge role - the Democrats put the "sticks in the wheels" of the Republicans, the latter, in turn, chasing ratings. As a result, the nation pays for the actions of politicians, ”Onishchenko said in an interview with RT.

A similar point of view was expressed in an interview with RT and Vladimir Vasiliev, the chief scientific associate of the Institute of the USA and Canada of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

“Rallies, meetings held in densely populated areas provoked a jump in incidence. On the other hand, Trump undoubtedly contributed to the surge in the course of the early opening of production. As for the words of Dr. Fauci about the insufficiently rapid response to the threat at the beginning of the pandemic, this is also related to the position of the White House administration, which tried to avoid the growth of unemployment and the worsening economic situation, ”the expert explained.

“The popularity level is declining”

The head of the White House, Donald Trump, from the very beginning made it clear that he was more worried about the damage that the pandemic does to the American economy than medical statistics, political scientists recall. 

Back in April, at the height of the epidemic, the politician announced that the US authorities were ready to ease quarantine restrictions. Speaking at a briefing on April 16, Trump noted that the shutdown of enterprises can not last long.

“This is exactly what we are doing - we are rediscovering our country, and this must be done: America wants to open up, Americans want to open,” Trump added. 

  • Donald Trump
  • © Carlos Barria / Reuters

The president also openly supported the protests against quarantine restrictions held in April in Michigan. 

In addition, Trump did not cancel his election rally, which took place on June 20 in Oklahoma. Announcing the meeting, the head of the White House announced that 1 million people intend to attend the meeting - as many applications for participation were submitted on the Internet. True, in reality the event gathered a much more modest audience - only about 6 thousand people.

At the same time, analysts believe that the deterioration of the epidemiological situation is quite capable of influencing the course and prospects of the presidential campaign in the United States.

“The epidemiological crisis will create enormous uncertainty, primarily regarding how elections should be held and how votes will be counted. Now the option of remote voting by mail is being considered, which is opposed by Republicans who fear fraud. For their part, the Republicans are interested in postponing the voting day to a later date, and this can happen if the pandemic does not decline, ”said Vasiliev.

A similar point of view is shared by an expert at the International Institute for Humanitarian and Political Studies Vladimir Bruter. As he emphasized in an interview with RT, the rise in incidence and a possible second wave of coronavirus can create great obstacles to the recovery of the US economy, not to mention the new casualties.

“Trump says that the economy has already recovered, but this is not so - so far only stock indicators have recovered. The president’s concept, according to which economic growth should ensure his re-election, does not work, his level of popularity is declining. Nevertheless, Trump is unlikely to now call for the reintroduction of quarantine, he will continue his course with an emphasis on the economy, ”the expert predicted.