A sign informing about South Beach closure, to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, in Miami, Florida
WASHINGTON, July 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Alabama and several other US states reported record increases in coronavirus cases on Friday as Florida’s most populous county imposed a curfew ahead of the Independence Day weekend and Arkansas joined a push towards mandating mask-wearing in public.
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, Missouri, Idaho and Alabama all saw new daily highs in cases of COVID-19. Texas hit a new peak for hospitalisations, with one doctor calling for a “complete lockdown” in the state to get the virus under control.
The daily US tally of cases stood at 53,483 late on Friday, below the previous day’s record 55,405.
The recent surge, most pronounced in southern and western states, has alarmed public health officials, who urged caution ahead of a Jul 4 holiday weekend to celebrate the Declaration of Independence of the United States in 1776.
North Carolina reported 951 hospitalisations and 2,099 cases, both record highs.
Bill Saffo, mayor of Wilmington, North Carolina, said many infections had been traced to large gatherings and predicted a further jump after the holiday weekend as people flouted guidelines on social distancing and masks.
“We know that the spread is going to happen. We know probably in about two weeks we’ll see a spike from the July 4 weekend,” Saffo said.
Despite the jump in infections, the daily death rate in the United States has remained relatively flat, a reflection of the growing proportion of positive tests among younger, healthier people who are less prone to severe outcomes.
However, US Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned that the impact on fatalities from the recent surge, which started in mid-June, had yet to be seen. “Deaths lag at least two weeks and can lag even more,” he told Fox & Friends on Friday.
His remarks came hours ahead of a trip by President Donald Trump to Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, where he is expected to give a speech to thousands of supporters in which he will rail against the “left wing mob” and view a fireworks display at the landmark depicting four US presidents in stone.
The visit has drawn criticism from Native Americans, who say the remote area is sacred to them, as well as health experts who discourage large congregations of people.
Trump, whose handling of the pandemic has come under harsh criticism from Democrats and some Republicans, has repeatedly sought to dismiss the jump in cases as a function of more tests and again this week predicted the virus would “disappear”.
Coronavirus cases are rising in 37 of the 50 US states including Florida, which had 9,488 new cases on Friday, according to the state health department. Florida’s 10,109 cases on Thursday was a record for the state and more than any European country’s daily peak at the height of the outbreak there.
Evidence that the surge is not simply due to expanded testing, the percentage of tests coming back positive in Florida has hit 16 per cent, up from 4 per cent a month ago. The World Health Organization says a rate over 5 per cent is concerning.
Against that backdrop, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez imposed an indefinite nightly curfew starting on Friday and halted the reopenings of entertainment venues such as casinos and strip clubs. Earlier this week, Miami-Dade and neighbouring Broward County, the state’s two most populous counties, required residents to wear face coverings in public.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on Friday authorised the state’s cities and towns to enact a “model ordinance” requiring the wearing of face coverings if they choose to do so, becoming the latest Republican to relent to pressure on the issue.
The move came a day after Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered that face masks be worn in most public places, reversing his stance following an alarming rise in infections in the state, which on Friday marked a new high for hospitalisations at 7,652. — NNN-AGENCIES
