Oregon, New Mexico order lockdowns as other states resist

The governors of Oregon and New Mexico ordered near- lockdowns Friday in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of coronavirus infections shattering records across the U. S., even as many of their counterparts in other states show little appetite for reimposing the hard- line restrictions of last spring.

“We are in a life- or- death situation, and if we don’t act right now, we cannot preserve the lives, we can’t keep saving lives, and we will absolutely crush our current health care system and infrastructure,” Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan

Grisham of New Mexico said in imposing a twoweek stay- at- home order.

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered a two- week “freeze” starting Wednesday, under which all businesses will be required to close their offices to the public and mandate workfromhome “to the greatest extent possible.”

While most Oregon stores will remain open, gyms, museums, pools, movie theaters and zoos will have to close, and restaurants and bars will be limited to takeout. Social gatherings will be restricted to six people.

U. S. deaths have climbed to about 1,000 a day on average. New cases per day are soaring, reaching more than 153,000. Hospitals are getting swamped.

Still there is little will among many governors and other elected officials for the kind of lockdowns and large- scale business closings seen last spring. Some governors also continue to resist issuing statewide mask rules.

Among the reasons given: public fatigue, fear of doing more damage to crippled businesses, lack of support from Washington, and the way efforts to tame the virus have become fiercely politicized.

“I think that governors and mayors are, again, in a really tough spot. The American population is emotionally and economically exhausted,” Dr. Megan Ranney, an emergency physician and professor at Brown University in Providence, R. I.