States remain cautiously optimistic as crisis endures
While some U.S. states were moving ahead with steps to reopen businesses and leisure activities needed to spur spending and restore jobs, some were finding relaxed safety measures have been followed by upticks in new cases.
Arkansas over the past week has seen a steady rise in active coronavirus cases, following moves by Gov. Asa Hutchinson to reopen businesses shuttered during the pandemic.
Health officials on Thursday announced the number of active cases, excluding people who have recovered or died, hit a new high of 1,830 in the state, which has had a total of 6,538 cases. Arkansas also hit a record for a one-day increase in infections in the community, meaning ones that don’t include the incarcerated.
“We’re not going to go back, but we want people to follow those guidelines, make sure they do everything they can to avoid the spread and we can get through this,” Hutchinson said.
However, a rural Northern California county decided to temporarily rescind its order allowing reopening of restaurants, shopping and other services after its first coronavirus cases developed.
Lassen County had no reported coronavirus cases until May 22, when state data showed it was one of only two California counties with zero cases. But as of Wednesday, the county of 30,000 people had reported five known cases. Lassen County had started reopening businesses under state rules on May 11.
New York City, meanwhile, was on track to begin reopening June 8 as the state gradually loosens restrictions, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.
The U.S. Commerce Department figures showed that consumers are unable or reluctant to spend, even as incomes soared 10.5% in April, reflecting billions of dollars in government payments in the form of unemployment aid and stimulus checks.
However, wages and salaries — normally the key component of overall income — sank by an annualized $740 billion in April. By contrast, income in the form of government support jumped by an annualized $3 trillion. That form of income will likely fade in coming months as government aid programs expire.
Elsewhere, New Zealand said it has all but eradicated the coronavirus with just one person in the nation of 5 million known to be infected. But developments were grim in other nations, with India reporting a record increase in cases, and Pakistan and Russia record numbers of deaths.
In the first major increase since France started gradually reopening on May 11, authorities there reported more than 3,000 new daily infections. It was not immediately clear if the spike was due to a greater availability of testing.
Worldwide, the virus has infected about 5.9 million people and killed about 360,000, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The true dimensions of the disaster are widely believed to be significantly greater, with experts saying many victims died without ever being tested.