Covid19: Long lines at coronavirus testing sites in Texas and California, as cases keep rising

California, US: People lined up at coronavirus testing facilities in California and Texas on Tuesday, July 21 as cases and deaths continued to rise. At least 16 states have reported record levels of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients in July, and cases have set single-day records in 32 states this month, according to a Reuters tally.

In El Paso, Texas, lines of cars formed at two large drive-through test sites. El Paso Fire Chief Mario D'Agostino told a virtual city council meeting the facilities were doing one test per minute in the first 30 minutes of opening on Tuesday morning.

Coronavirus deaths rose by 131 on Tuesday to 4,151 and cases rose by 9,305 to 341,739, the state health department reported.

California on Tuesday became the second U.S. state after New York to report more than 400,000 COVID-19 cases, according to a Reuters tally of county data.

The most populous U.S. state has a total of 400,166 COVID-19 cases, putting it on the verge of surpassing New York - the original epicenter of the nation's outbreak - for the highest number of infections since the novel coronavirus was first detected in the United States in January.

In Northern California, long lines formed at two walk-up testing sites in Santa Clara County, south of San Francisco. The facilities are providing tests free of charge without the need for an appointment or referral from a doctor.

The United States has the world's highest number of reported COVID-19 deaths at over 141,000, nearly a quarter of the global total. Congress is negotiating another coronavirus relief bill to help deal with the pandemic and blunt the economic pain it has caused.