New COVID-19 cases in the United States have been on the rise over the past few weeks but the surging number of deaths has alarmed health experts around the world.
U.S. Tops 1,000 Daily Deaths
As the United States continues to battle with the first wave of its coronavirus, the country on Tuesday reported 1,056 fatalities linked to COVID-19, marking the first time in two weeks that the country had breached 1,000 daily deaths.
The data released by Johns Hopkins University has yet to be finalized, which means there is still a possibility that the number could increase.
News of the latest milestone in COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. came as a recent poll revealed that many Americans are sceptical about the real death toll.
Skepticism Increases among U.S. Public
According to the Axios-Ipsos poll released on Tuesday, 23 percent of the American public were doubtful of the accuracy of fatalities reported to the public in May.
While 31 percent of the poll's respondents said they believe data released by the White House, the increasing doubts of the public on government information about COVID-19 is still alarming, analysts said.
Epidemiologists also said there is increasing denial among people in the country even as more coronavirus cases are reported daily and people lose their lives to the disease.
New Analysis Indicates More COVID-19 Cases than Publicly Reported
A new analysis released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday indicated that there are more people infected with the novel coronavirus than what has been officially tallied.
The CDC team noted that for most locations with confirmed COVID-19 infections, "it is likely greater than 10 times more." The team further explained that in some regions, the infection toll could be from two to 24 times higher than what has been officially reported by local governments.
Following the CDC's data release, U.S. President Donald Trump said the coronavirus crisis in the country will "probably, unfortunately get worse before it gets better."
Trump downplayed the impact of the coronavirus on the American public's health and safety earlier in the outbreak. He had also been urging most government offices to reopen until reversing course on Tuesday.
At Least 15 U.S. States Report Record Increases in Hospitalizations
Before Trump's comments on Tuesday, a recent tally indicated that hospitalization rates in at least 15 states have been on the rise this month even as initially hard-hit New York saw its rates plunge.
Furthermore, the country's overall metrics suggested that at least 32 states have reported record-high spikes in new COVID-19 infections over the last three weeks.
It remains to be seen whether state governments that had been planning to lift anti-coronavirus restrictions will push through with their reopening plans amid the resurgence.
