Coronavirus hospitalizations are surging again in the US after dropping for 2 straight months — and the spike in new cases suggests it'll get far worse

lramsey@businessinsider.com (Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer,Shayanne Gal)
·2 min read
texas reopening
A barber gives a haircut in San Marcos, Texas.

AP Photo/Eric Gay

  • The US is recording a second surge of coronavirus cases center in the South and West, after states in the Northeast got their outbreaks under control.

  • Coronavirus hospitalizations in the US started going up again on June 21.

  • Before that, hospitalizations in the US had fallen for two months.

  • As total case counts continue to climb, the surge in hospitalizations is a worrisome trend that suggest the pandemic is about to get a whole lot worse in the US.

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After weeks of falling, coronavirus cases are increasing in the US.

And while hospitalizations related to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, had been steadily declining, they've started to climb again this week, too.

As case counts continue to rise, the surge in hospitalizations suggests the pandemic is about to strain the US healthcare system.

Already, hospitals in states like Arizona that are experiencing surges in hospitalizations are sounding the alarm.  By June 8, the number of people on ventilators quadrupled since the state reopened on May 15.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott banned elective surgeries in four counties to preserve bed space and paused plans for any further reopenings, as statewide hospitalizations related to COVID-19 have hit record highs. Florida's intensive care unit capacity has been strained as it encounters a surge in new cases.

Read more: Meet the 14 top drug industry execs who are leading the sprint to develop coronavirus treatments and vaccines in record time

Here's a look at how US COVID-19 cases compare to COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to data compiled by The Covid Tracking Project.

To be sure, in the months since the pandemic first hit the US, the country has drastically ramped up its testing. We are now picking up more mild cases of the disease, which will likely mean that hospitalizations won't track cases as closely at it did in the early days of the pandemic.

US daily covid 19 cases vs hospitalizations
US daily covid 19 cases vs hospitalizations

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

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