At the beginning of the ongoing health crisis in the US, New York became the epicenter of the infection with the highest coronavirus cases in the country. Soon after the state reported the lack of hospitals and bedding to accommodate the growing number of coronavirus patients, a nationwide lockdown was declared that lasted for a period of around three months and ended in the month of June.
Within the three months time period, there were further increases in cases but the restrictions on work, schools, and other public places helped in eventually flattening the curve.
Currently, the cases in New York are controlled in comparison with other states, such as California.
Since the end of the lockdown, the number of coronavirus cases is on the rise across all US states including the ones that had controlled the virus transmission significantly before June. For instance, the aforementioned state of California had very few active coronavirus cases after preventive restrictions were imposed.
By the end of May, it seemed like the virus would no longer be that much of a threat if the state continues to follow preventive measures in the coming few weeks. However, as soon as the restrictions were eased, California, along with other states saw a tremendous increase in new infections.
Read more on coronavirus in the US here.
After a time span of two weeks, the health officials in California started warning of a need for a second lockdown in the future as the cases grew at a much higher speed than they did at the beginning of the pandemic. Now, California is likely to have the highest number of coronavirus cases and surpass New York.
During the early days of the pandemic in the US, experts had never expected California to have the most coronavirus cases in the entire country. Once the restrictions were announced, the residents were seen to follow the measures seriously, which is why the virus was controlled to a big extent.
However, the cases soon started growing again with Memorial Day approaching and the end of the lockdown. Eventually, the average of seven new cases per day in the state became two thousand cases per day.
By mid-June, the number further increased and became over nine thousand cases reported every single day.
The overall increase was more than two hundred percent in the state, which made the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, re-impose a number of restrictions and shut down restaurants, bars, theatres, and cinemas as well as many other businesses.
Also Read: Coronavirus Pandemic in Brazil to Worsen in the Coming Weeks
How did California manage to surpass New York and have the highest coronavirus cases when it had controlled it? According to Anne Rimoin, who is an epidemiology professor at the University of California Los Angeles, California was not ready to reopen in June.
Even though the virus was under control, more weeks of the lockdown were required to ensure total control over the virus. The early end of the lockdown also gave the impression that the pandemic was over, which was far from the truth.
Many people in California stopped following preventive measures while heading out, which also played a fundamental role in virus spread. Currently, California has an alarming rate of new infections and most health experts agree that another lockdown will be required in the state soon.