The United States headed for the weekend of July 4 with many canceled fireworks displays and parades, closed beaches and bars, and health officials warned that this will be a crucial test of American self-control that could determine the trajectory of the growing outbreak of coronavirus.
With confirmed cases in 40 states, local governors and officials have ordered the use of masks in public, and families were urged to celebrate their independence at home. Even then, they were told to keep their outdoor meals small.
“This year is a huge bummer, to say the least,” said Ashley Peters, who for 14 years has hosted 150 friends and family at a pool party at her Manteca, California home with a DJ, bounce house. , water slide and shaved ice holder. This time, the guest list is reduced to a few people.
She said disconnecting the bash was a no-brainer because many of those she knows are frontline workers, including her husband, a fire captain. “I woke up and told my husband that I wish it was just July 5,” she said.
Health experts agree that this will be a crucial time to determine if the nation falls into a deeper disaster. The fear is that a weekend of pool parties, picnics, and crowded parades will fill the wave.
“We are not going to arrest people for having meetings, but we are certainly going to discourage them,” said Dr. Jeff Duchin, director of public health for Seattle and King County.
Those who decide that they should meet with a small group of family members should be careful, he said: “Don’t share utensils, don’t share objects, don’t pass them from one place to another, because you are transmitting that virus around as well.”
The warnings sounded after a Memorial Day weekend that saw many people leave orders to stay home to go to the beach, restaurants, and family gatherings. Since then, confirmed infections per day in the US have soared to a record high, More than duplicate.
The United States set another record on Friday with 52,300 recently reported cases, according to the count maintained by Johns Hopkins University.
The image was grim in much of the country. In Arizona, the number of people at the hospital with a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 eclipsed 3,000 for the first time. Alabama reported more than 1,700 new confirmed cases, its highest single-day count to date. New York state, which has largely domesticated the virus, recorded 918 new cases, most in at least three weeks.
Regardless, there will still be fireworks and community events scattered across the country, with many taking social distancing into account. In Ohio, the Upper Arlington July 4 parade will take a much longer route through its neighborhoods so residents can look without crowding the streets.
“We call it the front porch parade,” said organizer Sam Porter. “We can’t just not do something.”
The fireworks will be launched from four locations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, so people can ooh and aah from home instead of meeting in one location.
Willie Nelson’s annual July 4 picnic will continue at his Texas ranch outside Austin, but this year the part of the concert will be virtual.
President Donald Trump traveled to South Dakota on Friday for a fireworks display at Mount Rushmore before returning to the nation’s capital for military overflights on Saturday and a mile-long pyrotechnic display on the National Mall that his administration promises will be the largest in recent memory . Up to 300,000 masks will be given away, but are not required.
The big party will continue with the objections of the mayor of Washington.
“Ask yourself, do you need to be there? Ask yourself, can you anticipate or know who will be around you? If you go downtown, do you know if you will be able to distance yourself socially? Mayor Muriel Bowser said.
Beaches that had been open for the traditional start of summer over Memorial Day weekend will be banned in many places this time, including southern Florida, southern California, and the Texas gulf coast.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised Americans who go to the beach to cover their faces, but not in the water.
With professional pyrotechnic displays canceled, authorities gear up for wildfires and injuries caused by Americans firing fireworks at home. Fireworks sales have been booming in what some vendors say may reflect a desire for a little excitement among people locked up for so long.
Jamie Parrott, a pediatric neurologist in Columbia, South Carolina, said he intends to stay home with his grandchildren, light fireworks, and eat hamburgers, because that is the safest course for older people like him.
“Let’s get out of trouble,” he said.
The Delaware governor ordered the closing of bars in some coastal towns, saying that people were becoming complacent with the masks and social distancing. The resort town of Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie in Ohio canceled its fireworks after a small number of coronavirus cases were linked to bars on the island. And New Jersey’s resort town Wildwood did the same.
Still, a lot of people are expected to pack the beaches, boardwalk restaurants and amusement parks on the Jersey shore.
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, is one of the worst hot spots in the country for COVID-19, and officials from several other states blame its outbreaks on tourists returning from the resort town. On Thursday, the city approved a mask requirement.
“I hate the perception people have now, as any city would,” said Mayor Brenda Bethune.
After hearing the Michigan governor warn of the need to be smart amid a surge of cases, Mary Halley of Jonesville said her family canceled plans for a weekend outing on Lake Michigan.
“We had some disappointed children, but we knew that as a family we couldn’t do that,” he said. The problem, she said, is that many people don’t listen to experts. “Even in my small, small town, there are many people who did not follow orders,” he said.
Dr. Don Williamson, head of the Alabama Hospital Association, said he is “really, really concerned about the Fourth of July.”
“I think that will probably determine Alabama’s trend for the rest of the summer,” he said.
___
Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report.
.
