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Florida, Arizona, Texas and California, which were among some of the first states to begin reopening their economies, are driving the recent coronavirus spike seen in the United States, data shows.
According to data provided by The New York Times, 49,932 new coronavirus cases were reported across the country Wednesday, the highest total since the crisis began in the U.S. in March.
The four states, which are responsible for more than half of Wednesday's new cases across the country, had started their phased plans for reopening in the first week of May.
Each of the states have since been forced to backtrack at least part of their plans for reopening as coronavirus infections continue to surge across the country.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced June 26 that all bars in the state close and restaurants reduce capacity to 50 percent for indoor dining in an effort to curb rising case numbers.
The same day, officials in Florida announced they would take a similar strategy in closing all of the state's bars.
"Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide," according to a tweet posted Friday by Halsey Beshears, the department's secretary.
The announcement seemed to be discordant with messaging from Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who has resisted shuttering more businesses or imposing a statewide mask mandate.
DeSantis has continued to blame the state's rapidly rising coronavirus numbers on its younger residents.
"We're not going back, closing things," DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday. "I mean, people going to businesses is not what's driving it. I think when you see the younger folks, I think a lot of it is just more social interactions and so that's natural."
Officials in several Florida counties have announced they will shut down beaches for the July 4 weekend in an attempt to avoid large public gatherings.
On Wednesday, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered 19 counties to shut down all indoor services at bars and restaurants ahead of the holiday weekend, as well as beaches in Los Angeles County. The order will affect almost 75 percent of the state's population.
Newsom, in conjunction with the state's Department of Public Health, had shut down indoor operations in localities that had been on the department's County Monitoring List for three consecutive days or longer, the department told Newsweek.
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced Monday his plans to pause the state's reopening strategy, reimposing restrictions on bars, nightclubs, water parks and more as the state continues to break new coronavirus case records each day.
Arizona reported 4,877 new positive cases on July 1, breaking the record high set just the previous day.
"We can't be under any illusion that this virus is going to go away on its own," Ducey said during a press conference Monday.
President Donald Trump, however, has continued to downplay the pandemic's threat, despite the country's worrisome numbers.
"I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus," Trump said during a Fox Business interview on Wednesday. "I think that, at some point, that's going to sort of just disappear, I hope."
The virus continues to surge worldwide as countries struggle to reopen their economies. The total number of reported coronavirus cases has surpassed 10.5 million, with 60 percent of those cases being detected just in the last month.
"Flare-ups are to be expected as countries start to lift restrictions," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general at the World Health Organization, said Wednesday at a news conference in Geneva.
"However, we are concerned that some countries have not used all the tools at their disposal and have taken a fragmented approach," he said. "These countries face a long, hard road ahead."
The European Union announced Tuesday that it would reopen its external borders to 15 countries. The U.S.—the country with the most confirmed cases of coronavirus in the world—did not make its list.
Newsweek contacted the health departments in Florida, Arizona and Texas but did not hear back in time for publication.
This story has been updated to include a statement from the California Department of Public Health.
