With more than 2,000 hospitalized patients and hundreds in ICUs, “Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic,” said an infectious disease expert, comparing the South Florida metropolitan area to the city where the pandemic originated.
© Cristobal Herrera / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Mandatory Credit: CRISTOBAL HERRERA / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock Photo (10709557d) People enjoy a warm day on the beach in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, on July 12, 2020. Florida reports 15,300 new cases of Coronavirus, a one-day record anywhere in the United States. Coronavirus in Miami, USA – July 12, 2020
“What we were seeing in Wuhan, six months ago, five months ago, now we are there,” Lilian Abbo of the Jackson Health System said during a press conference organized Monday by the Mayor of Miami-Dade County.
The Chinese city of Wuhan, the original epicenter of the coronavirus crisis, entered a 76-day lockdown in late January after a deadly outbreak infected and killed thousands. The first known cases of the virus were first detected in the city in December, and in mid-April authorities reported more than 50,000 infections. Miami-Dade County has registered more than 64,000 infections so far, according to state data.
In the past 13 days, Miami-Dade County has seen staggering increases in the number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 (68%), in the number of ICU beds used (69%), and in fan use (109%), the Miami-Dade County government reported.
Forty-eight Florida hospitals, including eight in Miami-Dade, have reached ICU capacity, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration.
“We need your help as media communicators to help the community understand that we are not repeating the same thing over and over again just to give it trouble, we really need your help,” Abbo said, directing those comments to reporters.
The plea echoes requests from some other leaders in the state and across the country who have seen new cases increase in recent weeks as Americans flocked outside after weeks of lockdowns.
As states began to lift restrictions, images of pool parties, crowded beaches, reopened bars, and Christmas celebrations without social distancing or face masks quickly emerged. Health officials then warned of what they are now reporting: groups that often date back to people who did not pay attention to the reopening guidelines.
More than 3.3 million people have tested positive across the country, but the true number of infections could be much higher, experts say, as at least 40% of people who contract the virus show no symptoms, according to a new estimate from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With no way to control the rapid spread of the virus and with thousands possibly infecting others unknowingly, both local and state officials have been forced to rethink more restrictions and, in some cases, possibly a second round of blockades.
In Houston, where hospitals are already overwhelmed with patients and are reaching ICU capacity, Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that he proposed a two-week closure to the governor after a surge in cases.
“I think we will have to close for a period of time. I propose two weeks, or at least, to go back to phase one,” Turner said. “We need to restart, especially in light of the fact that next month, you know, kids, we are talking about going back to school.”
In Atlanta, the mayor also tried to revert the city to the first phase of reopening, in which residents are ordered to stay at home, except essential travel. That decision was criticized by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who said it was “legally unenforceable.”
More than half of US states have suspended or reversed their reopening plans in hopes of preventing further spread. The end of the pandemic is not in sight, the country’s leading infectious disease expert said Monday, but that doesn’t have to mean a new wave of closings, as long as communities follow the rules.
“You don’t necessarily need to close again, but back off a bit. And then proceed in a very cautious manner, observing the guidelines for going step-by-step,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci during a webinar with the Stanford School of Medicine.
You asked, we are answering: your main questions about Covid-19
States reimpose restrictions
Amid a spike in cases, at least three states announced restrictions Monday, including California, New Mexico, and Oregon.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said indoor activities in restaurants, bars, wineries, tasting rooms, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, zoos and museums should close.
The 30 counties on the state watch list are to shutdown indoor operations for fitness centers, places of worship, offices for non-critical sectors, personal care services, beauty salons, hair salons, and shopping malls, said the governor.
In New Mexico, which has recorded at least 20% of its total infections in the past two weeks, a governor’s order places restrictions on indoor seating in restaurants and breweries once again in response to more cases.
Restaurants and breweries can accommodate people abroad at 50% of their capacity and can continue to operate take-out and delivery services. The new orders also tighten restrictions on gyms and other businesses, including tattoo parlors and salons.
“Unfortunately, the dramatically increasing number of cases in our state reflects that those behavioral modifications and precautions have not been taken seriously or not taken by enough people,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement.
And Oregon Governor Kate Brown has also taken new steps, expanding facial coverage requirements and banning indoor gatherings of more than 10 people. “Either the people will comply with this requirement and they will be a positive force to stop Covid-19, or I will be forced to take more restrictive measures,” said the governor.
Expert: wear masks or watch the economy go to hell
As cases increase, experts are also calling on Americans to take precautions and wear face masks. But more than two dozen states do not have a state-level mask mandate.
“You have a choice,” said Dr. George Rutherford, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco. “It can be blocked as the economy goes to hell, or you can wear a mask.”
In Texas, which lobbied for one of the most aggressive reopens, Gov. Greg Abbott warned residents that “the worst is yet to come.” Abbott has issued an executive order requiring residents of counties with 20 or more active coronavirus cases to wear face covers in public.
President Donald Trump also made his first appearance in front of the press with a face mask over the weekend, after refusing to wear one in public for months.
These are the states with mask mandates
Delays in test results.
Rising cases in the United States are also causing delayed test results for the nation’s laboratories, according to Quest Diagnostics, a leading provider of diagnostic services.
The “growing demand” for a Covid-19 molecular test is “slowing down the time” it takes for the company to provide test results even after rapidly increasing capacity, Quest said Monday.
The company can perform up to 125,000 molecular diagnostic tests per day, nearly double its capacity from two months ago, and expects to have the capacity of 150,000 tests per day by the end of July.
But despite the growing capacity, Quest said it is taking up to a day to process test results for priority cases, including hospital patients, preoperative patients in acute care settings, and symptomatic health care workers.
In all other cases, test results take an average of seven or more days.
There are multiple challenges to further accelerate testing, the company said, adding that it cannot reduce response time on results while cases are increasing.
More school districts announce they are going virtual
As more states announce restrictions, education leaders have also been forced to reconsider what the next school semester will be like for students.
The president has already said he is pressuring governors to reopen schools, and the Florida department of education earlier this month said it was demanding that schools reopen in August despite its increase in cases. On Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said she believes parents “should have a choice” whether or not to send their children to school.
But as more teachers and administrators express fierce opposition to returning to school, concerned about both their and student’s safety, districts across the country are now announcing they will go virtual for back to school, or at least they will give parents more options.
California’s two largest school districts announced Monday that students will continue to learn remotely when classes begin next month.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio offered in-person partial instruction options in the fall. But the state governor said Monday that in order for the in-person class to be allowed, a region must be in Phase 4 of reopening, which is not New York City.
Most American parents say it would be risky to send their children back to school in the fall, according to this week’s Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index release.
The poll showed that 82% of Democrats and 53% of Republicans say that going back to school would be very or moderately risky. Eighty-nine percent of black parents viewed returning to school as a large or moderate risk, compared to 80% of Hispanic parents and 64% of white parents.
Video: CDC updates school guidelines after Trump threatens cuts (CNN)
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