Police in Miami, Florida, what experts call the country’s epicenter of the coronavirus, issued more than 300 citations in 10 days to individuals and companies that do not comply with the local mask order.
“The growth rate (of cases) has shown a flattening since we implemented the masks in the public domain and we are following the advice of our health professionals and hospital administrators who tell us that what we have to do now is focus on the application, “Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told CNN on Sunday. “We created a special force for that and have issued hundreds of tickets over the course of the week.”
The county has reported more than 100,000 cases of coronavirus, more cases than all but 12 states. Over the weekend, ICUs had a capacity of 137% and there were about 334 ventilator patients, an increase of about 64% in two weeks, according to county data.
“If a disturbance or other problem develops, MPs would respond as usual; however, we will not respond solely for allegations of an executive order violation,” said Johnson County Sheriff Duane Burgess, according to the affiliate.
“I can tell you this: I am not the mask police. I am not going to require the use of masks. That is not my responsibility. That is not my job. People should be able to make those decisions for themselves,” he said. Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones.
But public health experts have stressed that if Americans wore face masks and practiced constant social distancing, the effects could be drastic: Cases could begin to lessen in a matter of weeks, and the impact of both precautions could be almost as effective as another round of locks.
12 states report more than 100,000 cases
With a continuous upward trend, California leads the country with the highest number of total infections, over 452,280, followed by Florida, New York and Texas.
At least 36 counties are on the California watch list and have been ordered to close many of their indoor operations. So far, more than 8,100 deaths across the state have been linked to the virus, and at least 6,912 people are hospitalized with 1,993 people in the ICU. Health officials said the state’s positivity rate, a key indicator of how quickly the virus is spreading within a community, is on the rise.
According to state data, that positivity rate (the number of people who tested positive compared to the number of people who get tested) is approximately 7.5%. For comparison, New York has cut its rate to around 1%, a statistic the governor touted as “really great news.” The Miami-Dade County positivity rate is approximately 18%, according to county data.
In Texas, the death toll exceeded 5,000 on Sunday, after the state reported 153 deaths in one day. Statewide, at least 10,075 people are in hospitals.
Communities will have to decide on school openings
With only several days in July, educators across the country are working to determine what happens when it’s time for students to return to class.
There will be no uniform threshold for when schools should reopen, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said on CBS “Face the Nation” Sunday.
“Each community will have to make a determination on the circumstances for the reopening and what steps it will take to reopen it,” Azar said. “But the presumption should be that we take the kids back to school and figure out how to make that happen.”
Echoing that claim on Sunday, Admiral Brett Giroir, a member of the White House Coronavirus task force, told CNN that although children are presumed to be in school, some communities may have to manipulate their coping strategies. reopening if virus transmission is too high.
“There is no one size fits all,” he said.
While the Trump administration has held steady in its message in recent weeks that it wants schools to reopen, educators protested a return to school next month, arguing that even if children don’t experience the In the same way, the decision to return could be deadly for teachers and staff.
Phase 3 of the vaccine trial begins this week
The vaccine is being developed at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in association with the modern biotechnology company. Phase 3 of the trial is expected to involve 30,000 volunteers and will test whether the vaccine protects people against the coronavirus.
The first results of the Phase 1 study showed that the vaccine, administered in three different doses, triggered an immune response in the people who received it (the higher the dose, the greater the immune response). More than half of the participants experienced side effects including fatigue, chills, headache, muscle pain, and injection site pain.
Former CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden stressed the importance of public trust in the vaccination process.
“There are no secrets here, it is very important that we maintain, win, increase confidence in this whole process or people will be confused, worried and will not take the vaccine,” he said Sunday.
His comment comes about a week after former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that about half of Americans would likely not receive the coronavirus vaccine if it were available due to lack of confidence. .
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Rosa Flores, Randi Kaye, Taylor Romine, Denise Royal, Jennifer Selva, and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
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