Health officials are urging Americans to scale back Independence Day plans after virus case levels reached disheartening new highs on Tuesday, with eight states setting single-day reporting records.
The Oregon Health Authority warned that “the safest choice this holiday is to celebrate at home.” In Nebraska, state leaders suggested that holiday cookout hosts keep guest lists to make contact tracing easier. In Los Angeles County, where 10,000 new cases have been announced since Friday, the public health department ordered beaches closed and fireworks shows canceled.
READ ALSO: Coronavirus: US buys up world supply of coronavirus drug Remdesivir
Elsewhere, the pleas were similar: Skip the party. Stay home. Don’t make a bad situation worse.
“We don’t want any more closures, but our numbers are going through the roof,” said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the public health officer in Riverside County, Calif. “Please don’t mix households, even if you think everyone is healthy, and instead celebrate the holiday with the people you live with. We started seeing more and more cases after Memorial Day, and we can’t afford another jump after the Fourth of July.”
The virus outlook in the United States is bad and getting worse. The number of new cases in the United States has shot up 82 percent compared to two weeks ago, according to a New York Times database. With more than 48,000 new cases on Tuesday, the country set a daily record for the fourth time in a week. More than 4,600 new cases of the virus were announced in Arizona, by far its most in a single day, as Vice President Mike Pence planned to travel there on Wednesday. California added more than 8,100 new cases, Georgia added more than 2,400 and Texas added more than 7,900, all records. The virus is also surging again in some places that had been doing much better, including Delaware, where new clusters in beachfront cities led Gov. John Carney to close some bars ahead of the holiday.
READ ALSO: Coronavirus: U.S. Cases Reach New Record
“Clearly we’ve had an outbreak among bars, restaurants, social activities in Delaware beaches,” said Mr. Carney, who noted “complacency in mask wearing and social distancing.”
Source: New York Times
