CALIFORNIA SLAMS BRAKES ON REOPENING
AMERICA’S RICHEST, MOST POPULOUS STATE ROLLS BACK
We’re moving back into a modification mode
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — California drastically rolled back its reopening plans Monday as coronavirus cases surged across dozens of US states and the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that too many nations are mismanaging their pandemic response.
Governor Gavin Newsom ordered all indoor restaurants, bars and movie theaters to close again across California — by far America’s richest and most populous state, with a larger economy than all but four countries.
Churches as well as gyms, shopping malls, hair salons and non-essential offices must also shut indoor operations in half of the Golden State’s worst-hit and most densely populated counties, including Los Angeles.
There will be no return to the ‘old normal’ for the foreseeable future.
“We’re moving back into a modification mode of our original ‘stay-at-home’ order,” said Newsom, whose state was the first to close down in March, but began easing restrictions in May.
The move came as California reported 8,358 new daily coronavirus cases, bringing its total to nearly 330,000 including more than 7,000 deaths.
Like the governors of Texas, Arizona, and Florida — which were also hit hard in the virus’ second spike — California initially declined to issue a statewide mask order and allowed counties to reopen indoor dining, gyms, and bars.
With new infections spreading like wildfire globally, many countries were also re-imposing restrictions Monday, locking down towns and cities and reintroducing measures to halt the spread of the sickness.
But WHO chief Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus warned that too many countries were “headed in the wrong direction” with governments giving out mixed messages that were undermining trust.
“There will be no return to the ‘old normal’ for the foreseeable future,” he said, warning that without governments adopting a comprehensive strategy, the situation would get “worse and worse and worse.”
Since the start of July, nearly 2.5 million new infections have been registered across the globe, with the number of cases doubling over the past six weeks, according to an tally based on official figures.