Their state and local leaders gloated over low coronavirus cases numbers, and heralded aggressive reopening plans. Supporters demanded the media apologize to them for saying reopening orders would put residents at risk for COVID-19.But now, a handful of lockdown-averse states that have seen explosive growth in coronavirus cases have begun ordering businesses to shut down again, closing beaches and bars, mandating masks, and implementing stay-at-home policies.Over the past several days, a number of states in the Sunbelt, including Florida, Texas, Arizona, and South Carolina, have seen an exponential rise in coronavirus cases.At least two governors who celebrated reopening orders just a few months ago have begun to reinstitute some mandatory business closures.The Texas Grim Reaper’s Fight Against Masks and Health CareStill, some states that have seen an uptick in coronavirus cases have hesitated to mandate business closures again. Despite a raise in cases, neither California nor Arizona have implemented statewide closures but, in recent days, their governors have backed measures encouraging residents to wear masks. Ten states that have seen case numbers spike—Washington, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon—have hit pause on their reopening plans.“We all want to get back to doing all the things we love in Washington during the summer, and fully open our economy, but we aren’t there yet,” Gov. Jay Inslee said Saturday when announcing that eight counties eligible to reopen would no longer do so due to “significant rebounds in COVID-19 activity.”Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak joined dozens of mayors around the country implementing mandatory mask orders in recent days while San Francisco Mayor London Breed said plans for hair salons, museums, tattoo parlors, nail salons and outdoor bars to reopen on Monday would be scrapped amid a rise in cases.But in Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert said he has no intention of another lockdown despite the state’s epidemiologist warning that a “complete shutdown” would be imminent if the spike of coronavirus cases continued.Here are the states and counties forced to start locking down—again. FLORIDAAs the state prepares to host a number of high-profile sporting and political events, Florida has reported a spike in cases. While on Monday, the state reported under 3,000 new cases, by Saturday, there were an alarming 9,585 new coronavirus cases the previous day—a new one-day record.In April, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had gloated: “When you look at some of the most draconian orders that have been issued in some of these states and compare Florida... Florida has done better.”Just two weeks ago, he brushed off concerns about rising cases, saying it was mostly relegated to “low risk groups,” and was partially the result of increased testing.But the state finally took some actions to limit the spread, announcing on Friday that it was “suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide.” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez signed an order on Saturday closing the county’s recently reopened beaches for the July 4 weekend, and banning large Independence Day celebrations and parades.Will Florida’s COVID Gamble Drag Down DeSantis and the GOP?“I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules [on face coverings and social distancing],” Gimenez said in a statement. “If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives.” DeSantis still defended the state’s reopening, pointing to the lower number of cases last month. “Remember: We did the opening at the beginning of May, had very steady, manageable cases. We’ve obviously seen that turn lately,” he said in a press conference this week. “But we have a very quiet May, I think everyone has to acknowledge that.” TEXASTexas had one of the shorter stay-at-home orders in the country, and balked at implementing statewide mask rules. But on Thursday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused the state’s reopening plans. A day later, he ordered the state’s bars to close, limited restaurant capacity to 50 percent and banned river rafting.“Every day, we make a plan. And every day, it changes,” Kim Finch, the owner of Dallas bar Double Wide told the Dallas Morning News. “It’s just unbelievable.”Abbott said in a statement it was clear that the rise was driven by certain activities “including Texans congregating in bars” and the new executive order was essential to “our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.”‘If People Die, People Die’: Texas COVID Hot Spots Keep Getting WorseIn an interview, the governor conceded that the reopening plan had been too aggressive, and may have accounted for a rise in cases. “If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the opening of bars, now seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting,” he said in an interview this week. IMPERIAL COUNTY, CALIFORNIAOn Friday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged the southern border county to reinstate its stay-at-home order as the rate of positive test results hit a staggering 23 percent. If the county didn’t come up with its own plan to shut down, Newsom said he would “intervene.”Imperial County had only nine coronavirus cases in late March but by mid-June, it had skyrocketed to 4,389 cases among 180,000 residents—the highest per capita rate of any Californian county—and was overwhelming the local morgue and hospital system. Local health officials attributed the spike to large gatherings held over Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, as well as the county’s proximity to Mexicali, a city of 1 million people, many of whom cross the Mexican border to Imperial County daily for work, healthcare and family reasons. Imperial County is one of 15 counties on a watch list, compiled by California’s health department, with more than 10 percent of people testing positive. “We are in the midst of the first wave of this pandemic,” Newsom said. “We are not out of the first wave. This disease does not take a summer vacation.”Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3eFRrWm
US president heads to Virginia a day after saying he’d stay in Washington DC to ‘make sure law and order is enforced’ amid ongoing anti-racism protests * Coronavirus in the US – follow live updatesDonald Trump visited one of his own private golf courses in Virginia on Saturday as America continued to see fallout from a rapid surge in coronavirus cases. The trip came a day after the US president said he would stay in Washington DC to “make sure law and order is enforced” amid ongoing anti-racism protests.The president has been frequently criticized for the scale of his golfing habit while in office. CNN – which tallies his golfing activities – said the visit to the Trump National course in Loudon county, just outside Washington DC, was the 271st of his presidency – putting him at an average of golfing once every 4.6 days since he’s been in office. His predecessor, Barack Obama, golfed 333 rounds over the two terms of his presidency, according to NBC.The visit comes as the number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000, according to figures released by Johns Hopkins on Friday. Many states are now seeing spikes in the virus with Texas, Florida and Arizona especially badly hit after they reopened their economies – a policy they are now pausing or reversing.Trump has been roundly criticized for a failure to lead during the coronavirus that has seen America become by far the worst hit country in the world. Critics in particular point to his failure to wear a mask, holding campaign rallies in coronavirus hot spots and touting baseless conspiracy theories about cures, such as using bleach.On Friday night Trump tweeted that he was cancelling a weekend trip to his Bedminster, New Jersey golf course because of the protests which have rocked the capital, including taking down statues of confederate figures.“I was going to go to Bedminster, New Jersey, this weekend, but wanted to stay in Washington, D.C. to make sure LAW & ORDER is enforced. The arsonists, anarchists, looters, and agitators have been largely stopped,” he tweeted.Trump’s latest visit to the golf course put him in the way of some opposition. According to a White House pool media report: “A small group of protesters at the entrance to the club held signs that included, ‘Trump Makes Me Sick’ and ‘Dump Trump’. A woman walking a small white dog nearby also gave the motorcade a middle finger salute.”It is not yet known if Trump actually played a round of golf. But a photographer captured the president wearing a white polo shirt and a red cap, which is among his common golfing attire.
from Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines https://ift.tt/3i687Ix