Coronavirus: Graph shows Covid-19 persisting in US while it subsides in other worst-hit countries

Weeks after much of the US has initiated coronavirus re-opening plans, infections have been increasing across the country.

A Washington Post graph using data from Johns Hopkins University compares the number of average coronavirus cases over seven day periods in the US and those in the European Union since March. The graph shows that while average weekly coronavirus cases in the European Union dropped significantly from a mid-March peak of more than 30,000 cases to 4,000 cases in June, the US has failed to substantially curb the virus, and since the beginning of June cases are again on the rise.

The US peaked in early April, reporting more than an average of 30,000 cases, and though an initial dip in April and May - the height of the US's social distancing and stay-at-home efforts - showed some promise, it appears June's re-opening efforts have caused a new increase. Compared to the European Union's average 4,000 cases in June, the US is reporting 24,000 cases.

In another graph published by Our World in Data, the US is shown to have failed at "bending the curve" of coronavirus cases when compared to Spain, Italy, Germany, Finland and South Korea. Additionally, the graph suggests the US is still performing a small number of tests in response to the size of the coronavirus outbreak, while the other countries listed have conducted far more testing per capita.

According to the graph - compiled using European Centers for Disease Control data - the US is still only administering 20 to 40 tests per case of coronavirus. Despite having fewer confirmed cases, the other countries listed on the graph are all conducting 1,000 to 5,000 tests per case.

In an article accompanying the graph, Max Roser, a research director in economics at Oxford University, writes that examining testing numbers is not useful without also examining the size of a country's coronavirus outbreak, as a greater number of cases requires a greater amount of testing.

"Just as it is not informative to look at case counts in isolation it is also not informative to look at the number of tests in isolation. We need to see the number of tests in relation to the size of the outbreak: countries with large outbreaks need to do much more testing to monitor the spread of the pandemic than countries where the disease is under control," Mr Roser wrote.

He continues: "The data for Brazil, Mexico, the United States, UK, Sweden, India, Pakistan, South Africa, and Nigeria shows that these countries test little relative to the size of the outbreak. Additionally these countries report unfortunately still very high daily case counts -- their lines are red and far from zero."

TechCrunch reported on Friday that Apple announced that it would be closing stores in four states - six stores in Arizona, two in Florida, two in North Carolina and one in South Carolina - as coronavirus cases in their communities began to climb again.

"Due to current Covid-19 conditions in some of the communities we serve, we are temporarily closing stores in these areas. We take this step with an abundance of caution as we closely monitor the situation and we look forward to having our teams and customers back as soon as possible," Apple said in a statement given to TechCrunch.

In Florida, coronavirus cases in the western and southern portions of the state have surged in the wake of the state's reopening.

In California, rising cases have prompted Governor Gavin Newsom to require mask wearing in public, and the states of Texas and Arizona recently began enforcing public mask wearing edicts.

The Washington Post published a piece outlining reactions from around the world to the US's difficulties in curbing the coronavirus, with experts expressing dismay at developments in the states.

"It really does feel like the US has given up," Siouxsie Wiles, an infectious-disease specialist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand told The Post. "I can't imagine what it must be like having to go to work knowing it's unsafe. It's hard to see how this ends. There are just going to be more and more people infected, and more and more deaths. It's heartbreaking."

President Donald Trump has vowed that he will not allow a second shutdown, and has eschewed the use of masks and demanded a return to normality. Mr Trump forced the Republican National Convention in August to change venues as North Carolina governor Roy Cooper refused to allow the GOP to use the Spectrum Center without wearing masks and limiting the number of attendees. The convention has been rescheduled to take place in Jacksonville, Florida, where Trump-friendly Governor Ron DeSantis has allowed the convention to carry on without restrictions.

Mr Trump is holding an indoor campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Saturday - his first rally in three months - despite the city and its newspaper calling on him to hold off on the rally. Attendees will be offered masks and hand sanitiser at the door, though Mr Trump has claimed that some individuals who wear masks only do so as a way to show their "disapproval" of him.

According to a study released by Texas A&M University, not wearing a face mask "dramatically increases a person's chances of being infected by the Covid-19 virus."

"Our results clearly show that airborne transmission via respiratory aerosols represents the dominant route for the spread of Covid-19," Renyi Zhang, Texas A&M Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Sciences and one of the authors of the study said. "By analysing the pandemic trends without face-covering using the statistical method and by projecting the trend, we calculated that over 66,000 infections were prevented by using a face mask in little over a month in New York City. We conclude that wearing a face mask in public corresponds to the most effective means to prevent inter-human transmission."

Despite studies and recommendations by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to wear masks, the practice of doing so has become an element of the US culture war.

In May, a security guard at a Family Dollar in Flint, Michigan was shot and killed after telling a customer they needed to wear a mask - a requirement in Michigan.

In Stillwater, Oklahoma, the local government mandated mask use, but was barraged with verbal abuse and a shooting threat over its first three days, leading the government to rescind the mandate and simply recommend the masks' usage.