"A lot of people are saying they are done with this virus. Well, the virus isn't done with us."

The 25-50% spike in coronavirus cases in Florida, Arizona, Oregon and other Southern and Western states can be traced back to around Memorial Day, when officials began loosening their lockdowns, health experts said Monday.

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat, announced Monday that he would delay the next phase of the state's reopening for 28 days.

"This remains a very contagious disease," Edwards said. "There are a lot of people out there saying they are done with this virus. Well, the virus isn't done with us."

Conservatives hiding the truth

President Donald Trump and allies, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, have attributed the rise in cases to more testing, a claim most health experts say is at best partly true.

Ducey also suggested another uniquely Arizona reason for the spread of the virus last week. "We're indoors in the summers," he said.

Ducey, as well as DeSantis and Abbott, have all insisted that their states have enough intensive care beds to any surge.

But DeSantis has also changed his state's guidelines for ICU reporting. From now on, DeSantis doesn't want the hospitals to report the number of patients in ICU beds. He wants hospitals to report the number of patients who require an "intensive level of care."

Florida passed 100,000 coronavirus cases Monday and has recorded more than 3,170 deaths.

[nbcnews.com]