US Holiday Weekend Adds to Virus Concerns as Case Numbers Increase

S T. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Florida and Texas reported record daily increases in confirmed cases of coronavirus on Saturday, the latest sign that the virus is emerging in many parts of the United States, making the July 4 celebrations pale.

Officials and health authorities have warned people to take precautions or to simply stay home on Independence Day as confirmed cases are on the rise in dozens of states. The United States reported more than 50,000 confirmed cases on Saturday for the third consecutive day, according to a count maintained by Johns Hopkins University.

The United States has more than 2.8 million confirmed cases, about a quarter of the 11 million infections worldwide, according to the count, which is believed to underestimate the actual number, in part due to asymptomatic cases and limited evidence. More than 525,000 people have died worldwide.

While the increase in cases in the US partly reflects expanded evidence, experts say there is evidence that the virus is also spreading as states reopen their economies.

Deaths have begun to rise in some states that have seen an increase in cases, including Texas, Arizona and Florida, and the coming weeks will be revealing. Still, some experts have expressed doubts that deaths will return to the peak of around 2,200 deaths per day in mid-April, due to advances in treatment and because more young adults who are less vulnerable to serious complications are among those recently diagnosed. .

In another troubling signal, the World Health Organization said member states on Saturday reported more than 212,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide, the highest increase in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The Geneva-based organization said more than 60% of the confirmed case reports it received were in the Americas, which includes the United States and Brazil.

The WHO count may differ from other global case counts due to reporting delays.

The sobering updates came as local officials and US health experts tried to minimize opportunities for the virus to continue spreading on a holiday weekend that is usually spent eating at backyard gatherings or crowding Side by side to see parades and fireworks shows.

Many communities canceled those events and warned people not to gather on their own.

Texas, which reported a record daily increase of 8,258 confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, is pulling out of what had been one of the fastest reopens in the country. Much of the state began forcing her to cover her face on Friday, with a $ 250 fine for teasing.

In Florida, which reported 11,445 confirmed infections on Saturday, bars across the state are closed and some regional attractions, such as the Miami Zoo and Jungle Island, have closed. Officials in South Florida, including Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys, closed the beaches over the weekend.

Other beaches in the state remained open. On St. Pete Beach in the Gulf of Mexico, parking spaces were scarce on Saturday afternoon, and hundreds of people gathered in groups under umbrellas and in huts on the sand.

Agents from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office patrolled in ATVs, telling people they should stay with their own families or groups, and away from others.

Keisha Pereira arrived at the beach from Osceola County, more than 100 miles (160 km) inland, with her daughter and two other children, and said the group planned to stay away from the others. She brought hand sanitizer and masks in case they go somewhere other than the beach.

“We are going to stay together,” he said. “I feel pretty safe outside.”

In several of California’s tourism-focused counties, economic problems sparked campaigns to convince state residents to travel within its borders. But public health experts and mayors of the popular coastal cities of Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay have pleaded with people to stay home for the holidays.

Crista Luedtke said the lawsuit has been “crazy” since the reopening of the 14-room Boon Hotel and Spa it owns in the city of Guerneville in Sonoma County. Guests must stay at least two nights and sunbeds are assigned near the pool.

“Tourism is not dangerous,” said Luedtke. “I think people who don’t follow the rules are dangerous.”

The holiday weekend coincides with a big step back this week for California’s efforts to reopen the state’s economy. Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of three weeks of bars and many closed establishments in counties that house approximately three-quarters of the state’s population. Law enforcement officers rejected disappointed sun seekers from some beaches that have been closed to discourage large crowds.

Local efforts to discourage Christmas gatherings are in stark contrast to President Donald Trump’s weekend agenda, which includes a fireworks show Friday night at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Saturday’s “Salute” celebration. for America “with a presidential address at the South Lawn White House and a huge Fireworks display in downtown Washington.

In Britain on Saturday, some signs of normalcy returned when pubs and barbers reopened for the first time in months.

But other countries continued to report record highs in new confirmed cases, such as South Africa and India. In Australia and northeast Spain, authorities have ordered lockouts for specific counties or communities with the aim of stopping increases in cases.

Authorities in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba said they collect about 17 bodies a day during the pandemic. Relatives of an apparent victim of the virus left his coffin on the street for several hours on Saturday to protest the difficulties in burying him.

Police Colonel Iván Rojas said the lawsuit “is collapsing police personnel and funeral workers” in the city of about 630,000 people.

The Andean nation has reported nearly 37,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 1,300 deaths.

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Associated Press writer Tamara Lush reported this story in St. Pete Beach, Florida; AP writer Kim Chandler reported from Montgomery, Ala .; and AP writer Kathleen Foody reported from Chicago. AP writers from around the world contributed to this report.

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This story was updated to correct that the daily number of infections in the US reported on Friday was over 54,000, not 52,300.

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