Bars told to close again as California reacts to rise in infection rate
CALIFORNIA is rolling back its plans to reopen as it struggles to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus, with the mayor of Los Angeles threatening to impose a full shutdown if the situation does not improve.
America’s most populous state has recorded more than 7,000 coronavirus deaths and on Monday almost 8,400 new cases of the virus were reported within a 24-hour period.
The new figures prompted Gavin
Newsom, California’s governor, to order the closure of all bars, indoor restaurants, cinemas and museums.
Indoor religious services have been banned and gyms and beauty salons have also been forced to close again in the worst hit parts of the state, Mr Newsom said.
“We’re going back into modification mode of our original stay-at-home order,” Mr Newsom said. “This continues to be a deadly disease.”
He has previously blamed the surge of infections on “young invincibles” − younger people who believe they are not at risk from the virus. Last week, figures showed working-age adults were making up an increasing proportion of coronavirus patients, while the number of elderly patients was declining. The fresh round of shutdowns has triggered concern among business leaders that other US states will soon follow. In Florida and Texas, the country’s next two most populous states, officials hinted that they may return to stricter lockdown measures.
Together, the three states have reported almost 900,000 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began, according to a New York Times database. On Monday alone, they recorded at least 30,000 new infections − making up about 18 per cent of the global daily tally.
California was the first place in the country to impose a stay-at-home order when the pandemic began, with health officials crediting Mr Newsom’s swift action for limiting the virus’s impact in the area.
The state then moved to reopen large parts of its economy in May but cases began to rise steadily by midjune.
Earlier in the pandemic, the state closed beaches, camp sites and state parks as it sought to limit interaction between people from different households.
Since then, health officials’ understanding of how the virus spreads has changed with research suggesting it is most likely to be transmitted indoors rather than outdoors. Mr Newsom’s new strategy reflects this.
Among the worst-affected areas is Los Angeles County, where at least 130,000 people have had the virus.
Eric Garcetti, the mayor of Los Angeles, immediately implemented the new shutdowns and warned that he would impose still harsher measures if the city’s figures did not improve.