(CNN) — At least 16 states have halted his reopening plans in response to an increase in new infections, but some health officials say that the spread of the new coronavirus it will be difficult to control.
“What we hope is that we can take it seriously and delay transmission in these places,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, deputy chief director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). . “But what I think is very discouraging is that clearly we are not at a point where the virus spreads so little that it is easy to remove.”
The United States has reported more than 2.5 million coronavirus cases and at least 126,140 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University. State and local leaders have said the increase in cases is due, in part, to meetings, both in homes and in places like bars, which some experts called the perfect breeding ground for the virus.
But experts have long warned that some states also reopened too soon and too quickly, warning that the move could lead to more spikes in the cases.
Over the weekend, California Governor Gavin Newsom closed bars in seven counties and recommended its closure in several more. In Texas, bars were ordered closed, while Florida suspended local alcohol consumption statewide. Arizona closed its bars, gyms and other businesses for a month. Also ordered the closure of the beaches from Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach, for the July 4 holiday weekend.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this Monday The state will decide later this week whether to delay the reopening of indoor restaurant services in New York City, as “it has been shown to pose a risk in other states.”
Even with renewed measures, an expert says there is no evidence that re-closing bars and other businesses will delay the resurgence of the virus in parts of the United States.
“They are trying to see if they can do this selectively, which means closing 50% bars or restaurants and encouraging the use of face masks or, in some cases, making their use mandatory and not reaching that full closure,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean for the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “What is the evidence that that will work?”
Only two states see a decrease in new cases
The rethink of how to safely reopen the country comes when new cases in at least 36 states are trending up compared to the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins data.
States reporting an increase in new cases include: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri , Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Twelve states are constantly walking in new cases: Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Virginia.
Two states reported a decrease in new cases: New Jersey and Rhode Island.
“The next two weeks will be critical,” says Los Angeles mayor
In Los Angeles, the county health director said officials “did not expect to see this increase so fast so fast.”
Since the reopening began several weeks ago, Los Angeles has seen an alarming increase in cases and hospitalizations, said Health Director Barbara Ferrer. There are now a total of more than 100,000 confirmed cases, with a single-day record of 2,903 new cases reported on Monday.
The next two weeks will be critical, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Monday.
“This period will be our second major test to see whether or not we can do things, all the wisdom we have learned, to apply it collectively and to make sure we do our part to keep people living and maintain their livelihoods,” he said. Garcetti.
At the current rate of increase, Los Angeles hospital beds will likely reach capacity in a few weeks, said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of Health Services.
“The number of hospital beds could become inadequate in the coming weeks,” said Ghaly. There are only enough respirators in the county to last four weeks, and Ghaly says the county’s projections show a marked increase in death rates.
In Riverside County, in southern California, about 96% of all intensive care unit beds are in use, officials said Monday.
Over the weekend, the county reported that its intensive care unit bed capacity reached 99%, largely due to overflow from neighboring Imperial County. 370 intensive care beds are now in use, 3% less than on the weekend.
“We barely survived the first shutdown”
Meanwhile, the escalation in cases means that many companies across the country have been forced to close a second time, which some owners say can be devastating.
In Texas, after the governor ordered bars closed again last week, a Houston bar owner told CNN that he is applying for unemployment benefits.
And after Florida suspended alcohol use there, a Jacksonville bar said they were concerned about what it would mean to close their doors a second time.
“We barely survived the first shutdown and once we were allowed to reopen in Phase 2, we were very strict about following all CDC guidelines,” said a spokesperson for the Volstead bar.
In Arizona, where the governor announced perhaps one of the most radical reversals to date, many companies were forced to close, this time for at least 30 days.
The order signed by the state governor prohibits large gatherings and stops the operations of bars, gyms, movie theaters, water parks, and canoe rentals.
“Our expectation is that next week, our numbers will be worse,” Governor Doug Ducey said Monday. “It will take several weeks for the mitigations we are implementing to take effect.”
– CNN’s Cheri Mossburg, Alexandra Meeks, Shelby Lin Erdman, Sarah Moon, and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
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