California, Florida back off from reopening
PHOENIX: California closed bars, theaters and indoor restaurant dining all over again across most of the state Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), and Arizona’s outbreak grew more severe by nearly every measure as the surging coronavirus crisis across the South and West sent a shudder through the country.
The run-up in confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases has been blamed in part on what’s been called “knucklehead behavior” by Americans not wearing masks or obeying physical-distancing rules as economies reopened from coast to coast over the past two months.
“The bottom line is the spread of this virus continues at a rate that is particularly concerning,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom said in dramatically expanding the round of closings he announced over the weekend.
The shutdown announcement, which came just ahead of what is expected to be a busy Fourth of July weekend that could fuel the spread of the novel coronavirus, applies to 19 counties encompassing nearly three-quarters of California’s 40 million people, including Los Angeles County.
Confirmed cases in California have increased nearly 50 percent over the past two weeks, and Covid-19 hospitalizations have gone up 43 percent. Newsom reported nearly 5,900 new cases and 110 more deaths in 24 hours.
With one of the biggest weekends of the summer approaching, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Americans to wear face coverings at the beach, though not in the water.
Despite the resurgence of coronavirus across the United States, President Donald Trump spoke Wednesday about the virus as if it were a nuisance he hopes will eventually just go away. “I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus,” he said in an interview with Fox Business. “I think that, at some point, that’s going to sort of just disappear, I hope.”
Meanwhile, a masked Vice President Mike Pence paid a visit to Arizona, where cases have spiked since stay-at-home orders expired in mid-May. The state reported record single-day highs for new cases (almost 4,900), deaths (88), emergency room visits (close to 1,300) and the number of people in the hospital (nearly 2,900).
In Florida, the biggest hospital in the hardest- hit county, Miami’s Jackson Health System, scaled back elective surgeries and other procedures as it and others around the state braced for an influx of victims.
Florida recorded more than 6,500 new cases — down from around 9,000 on some days last week, but still alarming — and a running total of over 3,500 deaths. Counties in South Florida are closing beaches to fend off large July Fourth crowds that could spread the virus.
“Too many people were crowding into restaurants late at night, turning these establishments into breeding grounds for this deadly virus,” Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said in forbidding restaurants with seating for more than eight people from serving customers inside from midnight to 6 a.m.
Louisiana saw its biggest daily spike since April, reporting 2,100 new cases in 24 hours. Georgia set a new daily record with nearly 3,000 new cases. Texas did too, with new infections skyrocketing past 8,000 in a single day for the first time.
Marilyn Rauth, a senior citizen in Punta Gorda, said Florida’s reopening was “too much too soon” and blamed Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.
“The sad thing is the Covid spread will probably go on for some time, though we could have flattened the curve with responsible leadership,” she said. “Experience now has shown most people won’t social distance at beaches, bars, etc. The governor evidently has no concern for the health of the state’s citizens.”