COVID-19 cases have spiked and hospitalizations are on the rise in some states, in what experts and officials said was in part an expected consequence of states reopening their economies, but made worse by the folks who have begun to disregard social distancing guidelines and aren't appropriately wearing masks.
The states in which the hospitalization numbers are increasing are Arizona, Arkansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah, according to a new analysis by ABC News of public data from the past two weeks.
Arkansas has experienced a 74% increase in average hospitalizations since after the Memorial Day weekend, and one official in the state told ABC News some hospitals there are "nervous." Arizona has seen a 49% increase in the same time frame, and an official there said hospitals are "definitely strained."