TOPLINE
As US coronavirus cases skyrocket, many areas are now seeing record increases in new cases and hospitalizations, prompting some places to reverse reopens and place restrictions on companies. These are the areas that have been hit with a second wave of stops:
MIAMI BEACH, FL – July 04: Signage indicates that the beach is temporarily closed at South Pointe … [+]
KEY FACTS
In California, restaurant food service was suspended, while bars, cinemas, zoos, and museums were closed in 19 counties, but those counties represent 70% of the state’s population and include the city of Los Angeles.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott ordered the closure of bars throughout the state while reducing maximum capacity in restaurants to 50%, down from 75% last month.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis ordered bars in the state to close once again.
In Arizona, bars, gyms, movie theaters, and water parks have closed, following an order from Governor Doug Ducey.
In Michigan, Governor Gretchen Whitmer ordered bars that reopened for indoor service to return to takeout or outdoor food again. An exception was made for the northern parts of the state and the upper peninsula, which have not been as affected as places like Detroit.
In Miami-Dade County, the mayor announced that all restaurants would have to close again for dinner, while gyms, gyms, ballrooms, banquet facilities, party venues, and short-term rentals would also have to close. Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, one of the largest in the world, also suspends elective surgeries.
In Ada County, Idaho, which includes the state capital of Boise, bars and nightclubs have had to close again by order of the Idaho Central Health District.
Several other states have paused reopening efforts, but have not reversed the course of what has been reopened. You can find a list that includes these here.
KEY FUND
When the stops are closed, bars are almost always the first to have to close their doors again. Bars are one of the most mature places for coronavirus transmission, according to health experts, and their openings are blamed for the recent record increase in cases, especially among young people. The United States now regularly reports more than 40,000 new cases per day, far more than high levels were during the first major increase in coronavirus in March and April.
TANGENT
Many of the areas that had to reverse reopens and handle a new spike in cases were among the fastest to reopen when given the opportunity to do so. And most of those areas also have Republican officials, who were eager to reopen when President Donald Trump’s administration instructed them to do so. States like California, Texas, and Florida, the three most populous in the U.S., also largely avoided severe impacts during the previous surge, which hit mainly densely populated areas in the Northeast, as well as cities like New Orleans and Detroit.
What to see
In Texas, mayors in the state’s largest cities ask Abbott to give them authority to reinstate orders to stay home. Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he would like the authority to issue a 35-day shutdown for the city as a last resort if it cannot control the current increase in the coronavirus. Adler told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that ICUs in the Texas capital can be invaded in 10 days.
OTHER READINGS
Coronavirus major setback: California, last state to abandon reopening plans amid record surge of coronavirus (Forbes)
Local Texas officials request possible return to stay-at-home orders (Forbes)
What Makes Bars and Restaurants Potential Covid-19 Hot Spots (The Wall Street Journal)
Mayor of Austin: ICUs will be invaded in 10 days (CNN)
