Mitigation measures are more effective as COVID-19 cases surge

The numbers keep going up in the U.S. as tens of thousands of new COVID-19 cases are reported around the country.

The governor of the state of Kentucky declared Sunday, "We remain at war with the coronavirus."

The U.S. is approaching 4.7 million cases as many states report a surge in infections.

White House coronavirus task force leader Dr. Deborah Birx told CNN on Sunday, "What we are seeing today is different from March and April. It is extraordinarily widespread."

Admiral Brett Giroir, a member of the White House's coronavirus task force, said mitigation measures such as mask wearing, hand washing and maintaining social distancing rules are much more important than contact tracing and testing for the country to contain the virus.

Dr. Birx emphasized that the mitigation efforts implemented across the west and the south are beginning to work, but she still urged the public to take the virus seriously and use safety precautions.

Australia, South Africa and the Philippines have also seen surge in COVID-19 cases.

Australia's state of Victoria has declared a state of disaster and State Premier Daniel Andrews announced a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. starting Sunday evening in Melbourne, the state capital. The curfew will only allow one person per household to go shopping once a day and is expected to be in place till mid-September.

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa has hit 500,000. Experts believe the true number should be much higher due to the limited testing capacities and public health resources in the country. Nevertheless, President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday he sees "promising signs" that the country's pandemic situation has stabilized.

Medical experts in Philippines declared the country has lost the battle in fighting COVID-19 after the number of confirmed cases surpassed 100,000. They urged the president to impose lockdown measures again in the capital to stop the spread of the virus. New infections spiked sharply after President Rodrigo Duterte allowed shopping malls and businesses to partially reopen in the capital, Manila, on June 1.

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