| For the second time in three months, the coronavirus warning signs are flashing bright red in the U.S. This time, though, there's a horrifying twist—an increasing number of Americans, it seems, are unwilling to take the few available steps to avoid disaster. This spring, President Donald Trump repeatedly aired his opinion that "the cure" for the pandemic "can't be worse than the disease." With over 125,000 fatalities and U.S. case numbers reaching record levels again this week, Trump is now calling publicly for slower testing and faster re-openings of the economy and society.  People in line at United Memorial Medical Center Covid-19 testing site in Houston. Photographer: MARK FELIX/AFP Now, the result of an unenthusiastic response is playing out in Houston, the country's fourth-largest city, where the outbreak is accelerating at an exponential pace expected to swamp the medical infrastructure by the July 4 holiday. On Thursday, Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott warned of the coming wave of suffering and death that the statistics portend, yet said "the last thing we want to do as a state is go backwards and close down businesses." Similar fates await parts of Florida, Arizona and elsewhere across the Sun Belt, which were among the quickest to ease social-distancing requirements last time around. With no vaccine or widely effective treatment against the virus, the only weapon countries have is to rigorously track its spread with robust testing, isolate those infected or potentially infected, and convince everyone else to take precautionary steps such as wearing face masks in crowded places and avoiding mass gatherings. It's a recipe that's worked in many places, from Europe to Asia to New York City, which is one reason why many of those places are now casting a wary eye at the prospect of visitors from much of the U.S. Of course, plenty of U.S. politicians and public health officials have repeated these messages for months. The question is how much influence they'll have as the virus continues to tighten its grip on America in the weeks ahead. There are causes for concern on this. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir both said they haven't spoken to Trump about the virus in about two and a half weeks.—Tim Loh | 
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