Several states report spike in coronavirus cases following reopening efforts, Memorial Day outings

Coronavirus cases in several states have spiked in the 10 days following the extended Memorial Day weekend.

Though state governments anticipated a relative spike in cases as they moved into economic reopening phases, officials now must confront what is driving the higher numbers. Among the potential factors are reopening efforts coupled with increased testing or a possible return to the patterns seen in early March and April.

Fresh data from states such as Arizona, Florida, South Carolina and Texas suggest that some areas are seeing record virus-related hospitalization numbers. Officials in 19 states have recorded two-week trends of spiking cases, sending some states back across the threshold they had to meet to reopen, according to covidexitstrategy.org.  

Another factor is the varied way in which states measure spikes.

While some measure the availability of ICU beds, others measure new hospitalization numbers, some are looking primarily at total case numbers, and some have begun including "probable" virus cases in their case-count.

Getting a full picture of the country's hospitalization numbers is a mammoth effort, considering disparate and sometimes incomplete data-accumulation tactics.

While the White House has apparently ramped down coronavirus task force meetings, and President Trump no longer briefs the nation daily on the status of the pandemic, officials insist that the virus-response effort remains a top priority. 

In recent days, the administration has begun taking steps to restructure its response.

The Department of Health and Human Services is working to take over primary day-to-day responsibilities from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

FEMA officials are reportedly eager to have HHS step in, as the agency prepares for the natural disasters that typically arrive with the summer months, including hurricanes and floods.