Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told reporters there is no going back to stricter measures, while California Governor Gavin Newsom hinted that on Wednesday he will tighten restrictions, especially on the beaches, this the independence.
California has had more than 222,000 coronavirus cases, about half of which are in Los Angeles County, and on Tuesday announced 6,367 cases, the second highest total for the state since the pandemic began. In Los Angeles County, there were reports of 2,779 new cases.
As the holiday weekend approaches, Newsom warned that family gatherings are the biggest concern.
Family gatherings where homes mingle with the extended family tend to be a place where people let their guard down, the governor said.
“It’s not just about bars, not just on the streets with people protesting and things like that,” Newsom said.
The Golden State governor, who ordered the closing of bars in seven counties over the weekend, said he will announce more restrictions on Wednesday.
Newsom has repeatedly promised that the reopening of the state comes with the ability to “toggle” if necessary.
In response to a journalist’s question about the closure of beaches in Los Angeles County over the Independence Day weekend, the governor hinted that state beaches may be part of his announcement.
In Florida, DeSantis assured reporters that his state can deal with the increase in cases and that it is not necessary to close stores and restaurants.
“We are not going back, closing things,” he said. “I mean, people who go to business are not what drives it. I think when you see the younger ones, I think a lot of them are just more social interactions and that’s natural.”
DeSantis’ message to Floridians, especially the youngest: protect the vulnerable.
“You have a responsibility not to come into close contact with people who may be more vulnerable,” he said.
CDC Director Begs Younger Americans to Wear Masks
It is “critical” that Americans “take personal responsibility for delaying the transmission of Covid-19 and embracing the universal use of face covers,” Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Tuesday. of US Diseases
“Specifically, I am targeting the youngest members of our society, Millennials and Generation Zs. I ask those who are listening to spread the word,” he said.
The U.S. has reported more than 2.6 million cases of the virus and at least 127,322 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. State and local leaders have said case rates have increased in much of the country, fueled in part by meetings, both in homes and in places like bars, that some experts have called the perfect breeding ground for the virus.
“Masks are extremely important,” the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Tuesday at the same Senate committee hearing. “They are the people who protect each other. Anything that encourages the use of masks, whether it is giving free masks or any other mechanism, I am totally in favor.”
Among the states that pause or roll back their reopening plans is Texas, where bars were ordered to close.
Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Giménez told CNN that he will sign an order to close restaurants in the county every night at midnight. Giménez said that not complying with the order is a second-degree misdemeanor and that violators can be fined and spend up to 180 days in jail.
States require quarantines of more visitors
The latest notice, updated Tuesday, adds California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada and Tennessee to that list.
That adds to the list’s headlines: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Texas.
The list requires people arriving from those states to be quarantined for 14 days.
In New York, violators could be subject to a court order and mandatory quarantine, with fines of $ 2,000 for the first violation, $ 5,000 for the second violation, and $ 10,000 if damage is caused, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
The New Jersey governor said the state health commissioner could choose to pursue unspecified punishment; The Connecticut governor described his state’s advice as voluntary, but considered it an “urgent orientation.”
Massachusetts announced Tuesday that it is doing something similar. All arriving travelers, including returning residents, must be quarantined for 14 days, unless they come from seven northeastern states, Governor Charlie Baker said.
Exempt states are Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire, Baker said. Essential workers are also exempt, he said.
Massachusetts also announced that there were no Covid-19 related deaths on Tuesday, the first time in months zero deaths were reported.
Only 2-state cases tend significantly downward
The rethink of how to reopen the US safely comes as 36 states have shown an upward trend in average new daily cases, an increase of at least 10%, in the past seven days, starting Tuesday. , according to Johns Hopkins data.
These states are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico , North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
In two states, average daily cases decreased more than 10% during those seven days: New Jersey and Rhode Island.
Experts say swine flu with ‘pandemic potential’ is not an immediate threat
The G4 virus, which is genetically descended from the H1N1 swine flu that caused the 2009 pandemic, was described in a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday.
G4 already appears to have infected humans in China. In Hebei and Shandong provinces, both places with a high number of pigs, more than 10% of pig workers on pig farms and 4.4% of the general population tested positive in a 2016-2018 survey.
Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at Columbia University’s school of public health who was not involved in the study, warned the public not to panic.
“Our understanding of what a possible strain of pandemic influenza is is limited,” Rasmussen posted on Twitter on Monday.
CNN’s Cheri Mossburg, Jamiel Lynch, Jeremy Grisham, Amanda Watts, Holly Yan, Taylor Romine, Shelby Lin Erdman, Sarah Moon, Jacqueline Howard, Jessie Yeung, and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
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