The increasingly rising number of COVID-19 cases in America was a hard reality check to those who had their hopes high for a quick economic recovery and a victory over the coronavirus pandemic.
The American South and West have experienced a spike in numbers of cases, threatening to cancel the plans in place for the economic relaunch of those areas. To limit the spread of the pandemic, the economy remained almost frozen for months. In the past several days, the numbers of hospitalised and infected individuals have risen dramatically, particularly in California, with 7000 new cases, and Arizona, with a 50% increase in cases, compared to the previous week.
Based on the latest reports, an astonishing 48% of all COVID-19-positive individuals are between 22 and 44 years old.
The financial market does not seem to be concerned by the “second wave” yet, as the country is still going through its first wave of the pandemic. On Wednesday, the equity market closed with the biggest sell-off since June 11.
- Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) -2.71%
- the S&P 500 index (SPX) -2.58%
- the Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) -2.19%
The State of New York has implemented a 14-day quarantine protocol for people traveling from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.
Experts explain the coronavirus outbreak is a result of disobedience to social distancing rules and the early lifting of curfew policies. It is suggested that stricter public health measures are applied, to enable Americans to return to their normal lives sooner.
Dr. Robert Quigley, senior vice president and regional medical director of International SOS, a medical security and travel-safety company, said that it’s difficult to place blame on any state for the resurgence in cases.
“What we do know is that if we are compliant with social distancing and universal precautions, not limited to sanitizing our hands and wearing a mask at all times possible, the likelihood of transmitting the disease is remarkably lower,” Dr. Quigley agrees.
“Even as an immunologist, I am struggling with some of the characteristics of this novel virus and its behavior,” he continued, regarding the highly contagious nature of the virus.
Nevertheless, experts suggest that the government needs to be “data-driven not date driven.”
