The COVID-19 infection rate in the US is the highest in the world, with the country recording 2,600 new cases every hour, Reuters reported. The US, where the first case was reported on January 21, has recorded 4,102,002 cases and 1,46,198 deaths so far. According to a Reuters’s tally, the US reached over 4 million cases in just past 16 days, with 43 new cases being reported every minute.

Trump blames youth

President Donald Trump is casting wide blame for a nationwide surge in cases, pointing to protests, travellers and young bar-goers. Trump on Wednesday said cases among young Americans first started to rise “shortly after protests.”

He said the protests following the death of George Floyd “presumably triggered a broader relaxation of mitigation efforts nationwide”.

‘Travellers responsible too’

A “substantial increase in travel” around Memorial Day and summer vacations was also a driver of new cases. “Young people closely congregating at bars and probably other places, maybe beaches,” likely also led to new cases. Trump also blames travelers crossing the US-Mexico border for spikes.

Labs are overburdened

Meanwhile, laboratories across the US are buckling under a surge of tests, creating long processing delays that experts say are undercutting the pandemic response. Some labs are taking weeks to return COVID-19 results, exacerbating fears that people without symptoms could be spreading the virus if they don’t isolate while they wait. Agencies

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