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, governors 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.
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 double.
The United States set another record on Friday with 52,300 recently reported cases, according to the count maintained by Johns Hopkins University. Arizona, California, Florida and Texas have been especially affected.
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.
President Donald Trump was traveling to South Dakota on Friday for a Mount Rushmore fireworks show before returning to the nation’s capital for military overflights on Saturday and a mile-long pyrotechnics show at the National Mall that its administration promises will be the largest in recent memory. Up to 300,000 masks will be given away, but not required.
The big party will continue with the objections of the mayor of Washington.
“Ask yourself, do you have to be there? Ask yourself, can you anticipate or know who will be around you? If you go to the center, 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 prepare 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 bars to be closed in some coastal cities before the holidays, saying that people were becoming complacent about the masks and social distancing. The coastal town of Wildwood, Jersey, canceled its fireworks, and the resort town of Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie, Ohio, did the same after health officials linked a small number of coronavirus cases. to bars on the island.
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, he 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 “very, very concerned about the Fourth of July.”
“I think that will probably determine Alabama’s trend for the rest of the summer,” he said.
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