With coronavirus cases surging across the US South and West, officials are once again imposing tough measures, from stay-at-home advice in worst-hit states to quarantines to protect recovering areas like New York.
Nearly four months after the United States reported its first death from COVID-19, the nation faces a deepening health crisis as a wave of infections hits young Americans and experts issue new acute warnings.
The world’s largest economy is the country hardest hit by the pandemic, with a mounting death toll of over 121,000 dead.
Some officials — including the Texas governor — who loosened restrictions on business, dining, public gatherings and tourism, are now urging residents to again stay home.
Three northeastern states that made progress beating back the pandemic — New York, New Jersey and Connecticut — on Wednesday urged visitors arriving from US hotspots to quarantine themselves.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the advisory applied to visitors from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington, Utah and Texas.
Several states in the South and West including heavily populated Florida and Texas are suffering what White House advisor and top scientist Anthony Fauci described as “disturbing” new surges in infections.
Daily case averages are being pushed to record levels in the region, even as former epicenters like New York and Detroit have seen their figures drop.
Fauci warned that the next two weeks would be “critical” to addressing the surges.
Florida marked 5,508 new infections on Tuesday, bringing its total to more than 109,000 confirmed cases and 3,281 deaths.
Governor Ron DeSantis said the state was experiencing “a real explosion in new cases among our younger demographics,” and a spike in hospitalizations.
The average age of new cases in Florida Wednesday was just 33 years, his spokeswoman said.
DeSantis warned that bars and restaurants could lose their alcohol licenses if they do not follow social distancing guidelines.
He declined to order a state-wide mandatory masking policy as leaders in California and Washington state have done.
But that hasn’t stopped Miami from implementing its own mandatory mask rules.
Source: Guardian Newspaper
