Seven US States Post Record COVID Cases, Curfew Ordered in Miami
Alabama and six other U.S. 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 toward…
Alabama and six other U.S. 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 toward mandating mask-wearing in public.
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, Missouri, Idaho and Alabama all registered new daily highs in cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Texas hit a new peak for hospitalizations, with one doctor calling for a “complete lockdown” in the state to get the virus under control.
The daily U.S. 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 July 4th holiday weekend to celebrate the Declaration of Independence of the United States in 1776.
North Carolina, for one, reported 951 hospitalizations 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 4th weekend,” Saffo told CNN.
Despite the jump in infections, the average daily death toll in the United States has gradually declined in recent weeks, a reflection of the growing proportion of positive tests among younger, healthier people who are less prone to severe outcomes.
However, U.S. 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 was 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 U.S. presidents in stone.