COVID-19 cases rise in many states despite safety measures
MIAMI — Arizona, Texas and Florida together reported about 25,000 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday as restrictions aimed at combating the spread of the pandemic took hold in the United States and around the world in an unsettling sign reminiscent of the dark days of April.
The face-covering mandates, lockdowns, health checks and quarantine orders underscored the reality that the number of infections is continuing to tick upward in parts of the world and that a return to normalcy may be farther off than many leaders had envisioned just weeks ago.
Alabama will begin requiring face masks after the state reported a pandemichigh of 40 deaths in a single day. In Texas, which again set a record Wednesday with nearly 10,800 confirmed new cases, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has increasingly emphasized face coverings to avoid another lockdown, which he has not ruled out.
Among the sternest measures were in New York, where Gov. Andrew Cuomo added to a list totaling 22 states whose visitors will be required to quarantine for 14 days if they visit the tri-state region. Out-of-state travelers arriving in New York airports from those states face a $2,000 fine and a mandatory quarantine order if they fail to fill out a tracing form.
Florida broke the 300,000 barrier on confirmed cases Wednesday, reporting 10,181 new ones as its daily average death rate continues to rise. Major cities in Florida have imposed mask rules, but Gov. Ron DeSantis has declined to issue a statewide order, arguing those are best decided on and enforced locally.
Still, on Tuesday the governor wore a mask while speaking publicly for the first time — at a round-table news conference with Miami-Dade County mayors.
“We have broken singleday records several times this week and there’s nothing about it that says we’re turning the corner, or seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I don’t see that in the numbers,“said Dr. Nicholas Namias, chief of trauma and surgical critical care at Jackson Memorial Hospital.
In Washington, a divided approach to the pandemic response spilled into public view in extraordinary fashion, with trade adviser Peter Navarro panning Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert. Fauci called the criticism “nonsense” and “a bit bizarre.” President Donald Trump stepped in to referee, saying “we’re all on the same team.”
Recreation and entertainment destinations were confronting how and when to reopen.
Organizers canceled the 2021 Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif., because of the pandemic’s impact on longrange planning, the Tournament of Roses Association said Wednesday. But Disney World went ahead with the rolling opening of its Florida theme parks that started last weekend, welcoming back visitors to Epcot and Hollywood Studios — despite the surge of cases in the state.
States around the country reported alarming spikes in cases. Kansas and Missouri each reported about 900 new cases in a trend that the head of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment described as “awful.” Montana also reported a record number of new confirmed cases.
At least three dozen high school students in northern Illinois tested positive for the coronavirus after some attending summer sports camps showed symptoms of the illness.
The developments came as more than than 13 million coronavirus cases were confirmed worldwide, with over 578,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.