(Reuters) – The governors of the US states most affected by the coronavirus resurgence halted or reversed steps to reopen their economies on Wednesday, led by California, the nation’s most populous state and a new epicenter of the pandemic.
New cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, skyrocketed by nearly 50,000 on Wednesday, according to a Reuters count, marking the biggest one-day increase since the pandemic began.
“The spread of this virus continues at a particularly troubling rate,” California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, said by ordering the closing of bars, indoor food bans and other restrictions in 19 counties, affecting more than 70% of the states. population.
The change in California, which was the first state in the United States to impose radical “stay home” restrictions in March, will likely inflict more financial pain on restaurant and bar owners who have struggled to survive the pandemic.
The epicenter of the country’s COVID-19 epidemic has moved from the northeast to California, Arizona, and New Mexico in the west, along with Texas, Florida, and Georgia.
Texas again broke its previous record on Wednesday with 8,076 new cases, while South Carolina reported 24 more deaths from coronavirus, a one-day high for the state. Tennessee and Alaska also had record numbers of new cases on Wednesday.
The United States recorded its biggest one-day rise of nearly 48,000 new infections on Tuesday, including more than 8,000 each in California and Texas, a Reuters count showed.
Democratic Governor Michelle Grisham of New Mexico extended the state’s emergency public health order until July 15, saying authorities would “vigorously” enforce the mandatory mask rules.
“I want to be as clear as possible: New Mexico, at this time, still has the power to change the terrible trajectory of this virus,” Grisham said. “But our time is limited. And we are looking at the barrel of what Texas, Arizona and many other affected states are fighting for. ”
‘VIRUSES ON THE ROCK’
In Indiana, Republican Governor Eric Holcomb halted the gradual reopening of his state until at least mid-July.
“We just have to accept the fact … that again this virus is lurking and moving, and moving even within our borders,” he said.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat whose city has been at the center of the U.S. outbreak for months, said on Wednesday he would postpone a plan to allow dinner in indoor restaurants starting Monday.
“We see a lot of problems, and particularly we see problems that revolve around people returning to indoor bars and restaurants, and the problem is growing,” de Blasio told reporters. A Reuters / Ipsos poll found that Americans are increasingly concerned about the spread of COVID-19, the serious and sometimes deadly disease caused by the coronavirus.
About seven in 10 Republicans said they were personally concerned about the spread of the virus, compared to six in 10 in previous polls. About nine out of 10 Democrats said they are equally concerned, a level of concern that has not changed.
Conservatives have generally been less willing to wear masks or follow other restrictions imposed by local authorities to stop the spread of the virus as the problem becomes increasingly politicized.
President Donald Trump, who has been reluctant to put on a mask, told the Fox Business Network on Wednesday that he wore face shields when he was around other people, but did not believe that wearing a mask was mandatory.
(GRAPH: Tracking the New Coronavirus in the US, Here)
(GRAPH: The lifeline, COVID-19 treatments, vaccines in development – here)
Reports by Brendan O’Brien, Lisa Shumaker, Emma Farge, John Revill, Sharon Bernstein, Peter Szekely, David Schwartz and Dan Whitcomb; Written by Sonya Hepinstall and Dan Whitcomb; Edition of Bill Berkrot, Bill Tarrant, Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler
.
