Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered the bars to close before noon on June 26 and restaurants to be reduced to 50% of their occupancy.
Sergio Flores | AFP | fake pictures
Governors in Washington, California, Florida and Texas are backing off on some of their reopening plans as coronavirus cases increase in more than 30 states in the United States, according to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University .
As of Sunday, new Covid-19 cases increased at least 5% over the past week in 37 states across the country, based on a seven-day moving average, according to Hopkins data. Those states include California, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Nevada.
The number of new daily Covid-19 cases across the country rose 42% over the past week to an average of around 38,200 on Sunday, according to a seven-day moving average.
The number of worldwide Covid-19 cases exceeded 10 million on Sunday, and the United States reported about a quarter of the cases. The coronavirus has now killed more than half a million people worldwide.
Public health officials also closely monitor hospitalizations, which may indicate the severity of an outbreak in one area. These data generally delay new cases because it can take weeks before a patient is sick enough to require hospitalization.
Covid-19 hospitalizations were growing in 20 states as of Sunday, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the Covid Tracking Project, an independent volunteer organization launched by journalists at The Atlantic.
On Sunday, California Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the state bars in several counties to be closed as the coronavirus shows signs of accelerating, including in Los Angeles. According to Hopkins data, the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases in the state increased by more than 40% compared to the previous week.
“COVID-19 is still circulating in California and in some parts of the state, getting stronger,” Newsom said in a written statement. “So it is critical that we take this step to limit the spread of the virus in counties that are experiencing the largest increases.”
Newsom has left the state’s municipalities to decide whether they are prepared to reopen certain parts of their economy after more rural counties reported few cases of Covid-19.
In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed said in a tweet on Friday that she would delay the city’s planned reopens for Monday, which included nail salons, hair salons, and outdoor bars, citing a recent spike in Covid-19 cases. .
“We saw 103 cases yesterday. On June 15, when we first reopened outdoor restaurants and retail stores, we were 20,” Breed wrote on Twitter.
On Saturday, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee also postponed the reopening in eight of the state’s 39 counties that were planning to move forward.
“The increase in statewide cases and concerns about the continued spread of the COVID virus have made Phase 4, which would essentially mean that no restrictions, impossible at this time,” according to Inslee and John Wiesman’s state order, Washington secretary of health.
Phase 4 of the Washington reopening plan would resume all recreational activities and allow gatherings of more than 50 people, according to the state plan. It would also allow people at high risk for serious illness to resume public interactions with physical distancing. A phase four county could also reopen its nightclubs, concert venues, and major sporting events.
On Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that he would reverse some of the state’s reopening plans, closing bars and reducing the ability to eat indoors, among other modifications and closings.
According to Hopkins data, the seven-day average of new Covid-19 cases in Texas increased by more than 52% compared to the previous week.
“As I said from the beginning, if the positivity rate were to rise above 10%, the State of Texas would take further steps to mitigate the spread of COVID-19,” Abbott said in a press release.
The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation also announced on Twitter on Friday that the state is ending on-site consumption in bars. Governor Ron DeSantis allowed the bars to reopen with modifications in early June after keeping them closed for two months.
On Saturday, Florida reported a second day of unprecedented new cases of coronavirus, registering more than 9,000 additional cases. As of Sunday, the seven-day state average of new Covid-19 cases doubled from a week ago, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Arizona cases continued to reach record levels over the weekend. The state reported 3,858 additional cases Sunday, a record since the outbreak began, according to the state health department.
Gov. Doug Ducey said Thursday that if Arizona’s reopening plan were a stoplight, it would be in the “yellow” or “cedant” position.
“Proceed with caution, go slower, look both ways,” he said. “This virus is everywhere, it’s likely to be in this room right now, and the actions you take as a citizen will make a difference.”
Ducey said the state’s hospitals are experiencing additional stress and “are likely to reach augmentation capacity very soon.”
– CNBC’s Nate Rattner, William Feuer and Emma Newburger contributed to this report.
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