States are headed back to COVID-19 lockdowns
Familiar measures from spring return across US
As COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise nationwide, some states are halting phased reopening plans or imposing new coronavirusrelated restrictions.
Several are putting limits on social gatherings, adding states to travel quarantine lists, mandating face masks and encouraging residents to stay home, as many did in the spring. Others are restricting business hours of operation and limiting restaurant capacity.
Thirty-four states – plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico – now require people to wear face coverings in public, according to a list maintained by AARP. Utah joined the list in recent days, Maine strengthened its mandate, and Ohio’s governor reissued an order this week with new sanctions.
On Thursday, a record 153,496 new COVID-19 cases were tallied in the U.S., just days after it had crossed the 100,000 daily new case threshold. The U.S. has reported more than 10.6 million cases and 242,900 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
In Maine, Democratic Gov. Janet Mills issued an executive order Nov. 5 requiring people to wear a face covering regardless of whether they can physically distance from others. The new order strengthened a previously issued mask mandate that required face masks only if physically distancing was difficult to maintain.
“We have recorded yet another day of record high case numbers. This deadly and dangerous virus is spreading all across our state,” Mills said. “Protect your family. Protect a health care worker. Protect the elderly. Wear your face covering. Save lives. It is that simple.”
In New Mexico, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday announced a two-week “reset” of restrictions from late March and early April. Citizens are to shelter in place, leaving home only for essential trips. All nonessential businesses and nonprofits will cease in-person activities. Essential businesses may operate in a reduced capacity.
North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday announced the state will remain paused in Phase 3 of its reopening plan, which includes a state
wide mask mandate, for at least three more weeks. He also announced the limit on indoor gatherings will be lowered from 25 to 10 people.
In Utah, Republican Gov. Gary Herbert issued a statewide mask mandate, hoping to stem a spike in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
After weeks of surging coronavirus cases and deaths, Herbert introduced a new tiered “Transmission Index” that will be used to place each county into one of three levels of alert. Based on the index, which calculates each county’s level of transmission using metrics like cases per-capita, transmission rates and hospital capacity, each county will follow new requirements on masks, social distancing and rules for going out in public.