The COVID-19 death toll topped 130,000 in the United States on Monday with over 2.9 million infections, as the country's top infectious diseases expert called for actions to stop the virus resurgence in many states.
"We had been in a situation (where) we were averaging about 20,000 new cases a day," Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in a livestream with Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health on Monday.
The U.S. death toll from the pandemic reached 130,090 on Monday; the country currently has 39.72 deaths per 100,000 residents, placing it among the top 10 countries in the world in that metric, according to data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
A series of circumstances associated with various states and cities trying to open up in a bid to get back to some form of normality, has led to a situation where the country now has "record-breaking cases," Fauci said.
As more and more new cases spread to younger people, some of whom are flocking to bars and other places, Fauci urged them not to think of themselves as invincible and warned that they could spread the virus to others.
"You're part of the propagation of the pandemic so it's your responsibility to yourself, as well as to society, to avoid infection," Fauci said.
Europe managed to suppress the virus after an initial spike and now is dealing with little blips as it reopens, but U.S. communities "never came down to baseline and now are surging back up," Fauci said.
Coronavirus cases were growing in 36 states in the United States as of Sunday, based on a seven-day moving average, according to a CNBC analysis of JHU data.
In Arizona, 89 percent of the state's intensive care unit beds were full Monday morning, the state's Department of Health announced, as COVID-19 cases in the recently hard-hit state surpassed 100,000, reported the Washington Post.
Florida has seen its caseload soar past 10,000 per day and 200,000 overall, and in Miami-Dade County, authorities reversed course on a reopening plan, issuing an emergency order to shut down gyms, party venues and restaurants, with exceptions for takeout and delivery, which will go into effect on Wednesday, it added.
California on Monday told six more counties to close indoor operations for many businesses and all bars, bringing the number of counties on its list of closing indoor operations to 23, as the state experiences a surge in coronavirus cases.
West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced Monday that face coverings will be mandatory inside buildings, and he asked residents to comply voluntarily.
Texas reached 200,000 total cases on Monday, just 17 days after crossing the 100,000 threshold, a figure that took the state nearly four months to hit, according to a report by Statesman News Network.
Keisha Lance Bottoms, the mayor of Atlanta which is the capital city of southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, said Monday that she has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Bottoms, 50, has gained national attention in recent weeks for her handling of the pandemic and protests against racism and police brutality.
As of Monday afternoon, Georgia had 97,064 cases, said the state's Department of Public Health.
New York City, once the epicenter of the COVID-19 crisis in the United States, entered phase three of reopening on Monday without resuming indoor dining.
City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Monday that major indicators kept showing signs of progress. Daily number of people admitted to hospitals for suspected COVID-19 fell to 62 on Sunday, as positivity rate in citywide testing dropped to 1 percent, the lowest level since the crisis began.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said at his briefing on Monday that casinos and movie theaters statewide will remain closed as the state government continues to review facts to ensure their safe reopening.
He also said the New York State Department of Health, in consultation with other groups, is finalizing guidance on the possible reopening of schools in September.
