INCREASING gatherings and lack of social distancing amid reopenings nationwide have led to the deterioration of the pandemic in the United States, a leading epidemiologist said Thursday.

All 50 states have begun to reopen after the coronavirus thrust the country into lockdown starting in March. Mass gatherings are now on a rise and increasing numbers of people, especially the young population, tend not to keep social distances, said Zhang Zuofeng, a professor of epidemiology and associate dean for research with the school of public health at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“Meanwhile, some Americans remain highly resistant to wearing masks in public areas, thus they cannot well protect themselves and people around them. This is another important factor leading to the record-high daily increases,” he said.

The recent resurgence is concentrated largely in the south and west of the country. States including Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas reported their highest single-day totals Wednesday. As the disruptive coronavirus hits the country, there is a silver lining: the growth rate of cases in over a dozen states, including some previous hotspots, is declining, according to Zhang.

“This shows that as the infection rate of the population increased, certain protection or immunity has established, which will help slow down the incidence of COVID-19,” Zhang noted.

“The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surgings that we’re seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona and other states — they’re not the only ones having difficulty,” Anthony Fauci, the U.S. Government’s top infectious disease expert, said Tuesday.

If the United States does not get control of the pandemic by fall, “you’re essentially chasing after a forest fire,” Fauci told the House Energy and Commerce Committee. (Xinhua)