News / Politics

Pandemic resurgence feared in US as coronavirus cases rising rapidly, Delta variant taking hold

Tuesday, 20 July 2021 10:10 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 20 July 2021 10:14 AM ]

People gather in Grand Central Market on July 19, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. A new mask mandate went into effect just before midnight on July 17th in Los Angeles County requiring all people to wear a face amid a troubling rise in COVID-19 cases (Via AFP)

A pandemic resurgence is now feared in the United States as the coronavirus cases is rising rapidly across the country and the highly contagious Delta variant appeared to be taking hold.

Many of the new COVID outbreaks were in parts of the country with low vaccinations rate, prompting political leaders to ramp up push for jabs among reluctant Americans.

President Joe Biden said the nation's economic recovery hinged on getting better at controlling the pandemic.

"So please, please get vaccinated," Biden pleaded, citing higher rates of COVID-19 in states with low vaccination rates. "Get vaccinated now."

The number of daily new coronavirus cases in the US has tripled in the past 30 days, climbing to 32,136 on Sunday.

The US COVID deaths also rose 25% last week to an average of 250 per day.

The average number of people hospitalized has risen 21% to over 19,000 over the past 30 days.

In Southern California, Los Angeles County has ordered residents to wear masks indoors again following a surge in the COVID cases.

New York City, however, has no plans to reimpose mask mandates despite a rise in cases. The city's mayor Mayor Bill said he would redouble vaccination efforts.

Utah's Salt Lake County is contending with the Delta variant, which is responsible for 90% of the new cases. Some 40% of eligible Americans there are not fully vaccinated yet, with leaders and doctors scrambling to persuade them to accept the shots.

More than 34,170,000 people in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 and over 614,500 Americans died of the virus as of July 20.

The swiftly rising COVID cases across the United States also sent shockwaves through stock markets. Wall Street saw a broad selloff of stocks as investors are worried about possible new lockdowns and business closures amid the widening outbreaks.

Millions of Americans lost their jobs and many small businesses closed their doors or temporarily suspended operations due to nationwide clampdowns during 2020.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk