For weeks, public health experts have been pleading with state leaders to keep pandemic safety measures in place or risk yet another surge. Now, the case numbers are starting to make their point for them. According to data from pandemic trackers at Johns Hopkins University, more than two dozen states are reporting at least a 10 percent increase of new cases compared to the week before. Nationwide, the average number of new COVID-19 cases saw a 7 percent increase from the previous week, and the average number of new virus-related hospitalizations also saw a slight uptick. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told CNN: “We're weeks away from a point where we can begin to do these things a bit more safely, but I think states have just moved too fast.” Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan's chief medical executive, told the network that her state is already in the middle of another COVID-19 surge, with cases increasing most in people between the ages of 10 to 19-year-old.