Five days after July, 250,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States, with no signs that the numbers are improving.
Ten states have already hit record highs in a single day in the number of cases since the beginning of the month, according to the latest NBC News count.
Florida reached that record twice during that time period, with 45,000 new cases. On July 4 alone, the state reported 11,4000 new cases, a grim number rivaling some of the worst days in New York State when it was a COVID-19 access point in April.
Half of the total of 200,000 cases of coronavirus in Florida were registered in the last two weeks.
In related developments:
- Three of the nation’s leading health organizations urged Americans to take “simple steps” like wearing masks, social distancing, and handwashing to preserve the gains against the pandemic the country made during the quarantine months. “We are not powerless in this public health crisis, and we can defeat it in the same way that we overcame previous threats to public health: by allowing science and evidence to shape our decisions and inform our actions,” the open letter Signed by the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association and the The American Nurses Association said: In recent days, Republican leaders who, until now, seemed reluctant to impose mandates to wear masks, have begun to urge people to use them. But President Donald Trump has still rarely been seen in public wearing a mask. “The president mentioned that he is willing to wear a mask if appropriate in tight spaces,” White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Fox News on Monday.
- Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said on MSNBC that there should be a national and state mandate that requires people to wear masks outside the home: “It is no different, for me, to require a seat belt,” said Suarez, a republican. “I understand that there are people who are bothered by that, who think that it is taking away their freedom and liberty. But the fact is that there are all kinds of rules that we implement for the safety of people, whether stopping at a time signal of stop, or stop at a red light, or wear a seat belt. And those are things that we agree on as a society so that we can have order. “
- Such requirements may become increasingly urgent as states and businesses open. Federal workers are returning in large numbers to their offices, often at the objection of local lawmakers and union officials, the New York Times reported Monday. The Defense Department has given the green light for 80 percent of the workforce to return, and hundreds of workers are already at their stations at the Pentagon. “Federal employees have been working throughout the pandemic,” Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, told the Times. “Moving them to a workplace so that the administration can say they reopened the government is irresponsible.” But Washington, DC, Virginia, and Maryland have flattened their coronavirus curves. Many fear that a hasty return of workers could undo months of work. In April, leaders in the region asked the Trump Administration to allow employees to work from home for as long as possible.
The fear is peaks like those now experienced in Florida and other states. On Monday, concerned that hospitals might be overwhelmed, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez ordered a second closure of all restaurants, apart from takeout and delivery, and the closure of all lounges dance, banquet facilities, party rooms, gyms and gyms. as well as short term rentals.
“I continue to roll back business openings as we continue to see an increase in the percentage of positive COVID-19 tests and an increase in hospitalizations,” the mayor said in a statement. The order takes effect on Wednesday, July 8.
Hotel pools, summer camps and nurseries will remain open, but with “strict capacity limits, which require masks and social distancing of at least 6 feet,” Giménez’s statement continued.
Giménez still plans to reopen the beaches on Tuesday.
“But, if we see overcrowding and people who do not follow public health rules, I will be forced to close the beaches again,” warned the mayor.
Previously, these businesses had been closed for approximately two months when the pandemic began and were allowed to reopen on May 18.
Florida is far from alone.
Idaho has nearly doubled the total number of cases in the past two weeks, from 4,000 to almost 8,000.
California has reported 27,000 new cases so far in July. That doesn’t include Los Angeles County, the state’s largest county, because it took a break from reporting any new numbers of coronaviruses over the three-day vacation weekend.
Additionally, 33 states and territories have seen an increase of more than 25 percent in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks compared to the previous two weeks.
There has been an increase in coronavirus cases in all Mississippi counties. One such case is Mississippi House Speaker Phillip Gunn, who announced via Facebook that he had tested positive and was in quarantine.
“I really don’t have many symptoms and I feel good,” Gunn said via Facebook on Sunday. “I am one of the lucky ones.” However, he is not the only state legislator to have tested positive.
Mississippi reported seven more deaths and 583 new coronavirus cases Monday.
