Coronavirus Cases Continue To Surge In Parts Of Country Where Officials Say Young People Are Ignoring Safety Precautions
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The surge of COVID-19 continues in some parts of the country. Most are in the South and West, where officials say more young people are ignoring safety precautions and testing positive. However, the situation in our area continues to improve.
The global number of coronavirus cases jumped by over 183,000 in a 24-hour period over the weekend.
It was the biggest one-day increase since the pandemic began. In the United States, young people are being blamed for the spike.
As the reopening continues to roll out, more Americans are getting infected with COVID-19.
"We're seeing a resurgence in the South and in the Southeast. They never really got rid of their epidemics," said former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb.
COVID-19 cases have been rising in 21 states since early June, and at least 10 recorded their highest seven-day average last week.
"The challenge with exponential growth is everything looks OK until suddenly it doesn't," Gottlieb said.
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Florida reported more than 4,000 new cases on Saturday, a record for the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is now admitting the recent spike in cases isn't just due to testing.
"You're having more transmission amongst the 20- and 30-year-olds is why the positivity is going up. And I think that's just a function of -- we're now three months into this -- I think that there's a lot of fatigue in terms of some of the social distancing," DeSantis said.
At bars and beaches in Florida, you can see crowds of younger people congregating without masks.
"These people tend to be less symptomatic, they get less ill, and they tend therefore to be spreaders. They can spread it among their fellow workers, their family members," said Dr. William Schaffner, a Vanderbilt University infectious disease expert.
That's a big concern with young people who have COVID-19 but no symptoms. They unknowingly spread it to people who are more vulnerable, like the elderly and those with medical issues.
"You know for young people, yeah, they may not die. There's a very low mortality rate. But when young people get infected, they go home and they infect their parents," said Dr. Charles Lockwood, with USF Health Morsani College of Medicine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to release new guidance on masks.
Federal health officials have been studying whether face coverings not only keep people from spreading the virus but they might also be protective.
