
While states lift more restrictions and more Americans go out to socialize or protest, almost half of US states are seeing higher rates of new coronavirus cases.
But the situation would have been much worse had states not shut down, a new study says.
More than 1.9 million Americans have been infected, and more than 110,000 have died in just over four months, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Some states are seeing increases: Nationwide, 22 states are seeing upward trends in coronavirus cases. About 20 states have seen decreases in recent days, and eight states are holding steady.
One of the states with the biggest spikes in new cases is Florida. The number of new cases reported each day has increased an average of roughly 46% over the past week, just as most of the state entered a second phase of reopening.
While big cities on the coasts were hit hard early in the pandemic, the past few weeks have seen wider spread in inland states, including Arkansas, Texas and Arizona.
In Utah, state Rep. Suzanne Harrison called a recent spike of cases "very concerning (and) approaching exponential."
"Today's 18.5% positive test rate is double yesterday's (9.4%)," she tweeted over the weekend.
Friday, health officials in Utah said they were "very concerned" about the rise in new cases over the past week.
The state has recorded more than 12,000 infections, according to Johns Hopkins.
Track the virus in your state and across the US here.