Looking at the states that are showing high levels of new cases, it's hard to miss the hotspots covering the southern US. Even in California, northern and coastal areas are doing better than southern and inland areas.
Most coronaviruses take a bit of a breather in the summer, and heat and humidity are the most often mentioned likely suspects. But we seem to be seeing the opposite pattern.
If COVID-19 spreads more through droplets than other coronaviruses (less aerosol, perhaps less surface contact) could it actually spread better when more people close the windows and seek shelter in air conditioned spaces?
I've only seen a couple passing questions like this, no research or expert opinions. Makes me wonder.
Of course, the Southeast thing is another instance of That Same Damned Map that shows up for everything from life expectancy to education to per capita income, so it could be so many things.
Should we be worried?
The number of COVID tests keeps rising fast, yet the number of daily positive cases keeps falling. So, the percentage of positive cases to the number of tests has fallen quite dramatically - below the 5% goal set by WHO.
At the moment, 35 states are below 5% and only four are above 8% (SC, AZ, AL, UT). There are special (and changing) state-by-state explanations for a high ratio of positive cases to tests, often related to situations of prolonged close contact such as nursing homes, prisons, meat processing plants and (in Arizona) Native American tribes.
Once such causes are identified, they can be alleviated.
Politically trendy "Second Wave" Paranoia which tries to link a few localized flare-ups to an alleged national danger, or to states with the greatest economic reopening, is simply disconnected from any evidence.