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WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — President Trump’s explanation about why the number of COVID cases is rising in the United States — “We have so many cases, that’s because we test so many people” — is at odds with health experts, including the director of the CDC.

“We continue to need more testing in this country to confront this outbreak,” Dr. Robert Redfield said.

Data shows the problem isn’t just the rising total of positive COVID cases, but also that the percentage of people testing positive is increasing.

“The positivity rate has skyrocketed in places like Florida, Arizona and Texas,” said Texas Democrat Joaquin Castro. “In San Antonio, for example, we only have about 11% of bed capacity, hospital bed capacity. In Houston it’s even lower.”

The map reflects COVID-19 trends for the week ending July 10, 2020 (Johns Hopkins)

Still, Trump and lawmakers like California Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy are pushing for students to return to school.

“The question should not be if we reopen schools, but how,” McCarthy said.

Dr. Anthony Fauci with the National Institute of Health said areas with a little community spread should move forward with plans to reopen schools and business but he warned against a one-size-fits-all solution.

“I would think we need to get the states pausing in their opening process, looking at what did not work,” Fauci said.

Younger Americans in their 20s and 30s are driving up the number of cases and hospitalizations in this current surge.