Birthday parties and funerals have been blamed for a spike in coronavirus cases as figures showed 21 US states have seen a rise in cases since the country began easing lockdown restrictions. The number of Covid-19 cases has increased in 21 states in the last fortnight, when many states lifted restrictions to coincide with the three-day weekend for Memorial Day on May 25, according to analysis by the New York Times. Health officials warned that the US could be facing a second spike of the virus after Americans were pictured in their thousands sunning themselves on crowded beaches and swimming pools over the long weekend. The warnings have proved prescient in light of the latest figures. More than a dozen states and the US territory of Puerto Rico have recorded their highest seven-day average of new cases since the pandemic began, according to data from the Washington Post. In at least nine states hospitalisation rates have also seen a steady increase since Memorial Day.
