LA closes beaches as pandemic surges
A surge in Covid-19 cases in the United States has ‘‘put the entire country at risk’’ of a new peak in infections, the nation’s senior virologist has told Congress.
‘‘We are now having 40,000-plus new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we . . . go up to 100,000,’’ Anthony Fauci said yesterday.
Joe Biden, the likely Democratic presidential nominee, accused President Donald Trump of failing to take the lead on combating the virus.
‘‘Remember back in March when he called himself a wartime president?’’ Biden said in a speech in Delaware.
‘‘Now it’s almost July, and it seems the wartime president has surrendered, has waved the white flag and left the field of battle.’’
He was speaking after Los Angeles took the unprecedented step of closing beaches on the Fourth of July weekend after a huge rise in infections in California, the nation’s most populous state. Officials warned that the city’s public healthcare system could be overwhelmed.
With more than 100,000 reported cases, the city of almost four million is the most glaring coronavirus hotspot in the US. Bars, which reopened in the city 13 days ago, have been shut again indefinitely.
One in every 140 people in greater Los Angeles is believed to be infected, a threefold increase from a week ago.
During the past month, 22 states reported record daily case increases. For the past two weeks, overall new infections have been growing at their fastest rate since April.
Four large states in the south and west are grappling with particularly severe outbreaks. Three of them have Republican governors who were at the forefront of moves to reopen the economy quickly.
Governor Greg Abbott shut bars across Texas and warned at the weekend that the crisis had taken a ‘‘very swift and dangerous turn’’. Infections rose by 6545 in a day, a state record, to nearly 160,000.
In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey ordered bars, nightclubs, gyms, cinemas and water parks to close for at least 30 days and delayed the reopening of public schools until mid-August.
In Florida, new cases have exceeded 5000 for five days in a row.
A few weeks ago, California was hailed as a model for how to tackle the pandemic when Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, ordered a statewide lockdown and was praised prioritising scientific advice.
But after infection rates plateaued far below expert projections, he came under pressure to reopen the economy, particularly from church groups, conservative politicians and businesses. Elon Musk threatened to move Tesla’s headquarters elsewhere.
The governor ceded control to local leaders, encouraging a cautious escape from the lockdown. Now the surging caseload in Los Angeles has turned the state into a cautionary tale.
Newsom said yesterday that California would ‘‘crush this pandemic. But we’ll have to be tougher’’.
He promised to unveil more aggressive enforcement measures, particularly on mask wearing and family gatherings. – The Times for