July 9 (UPI) — The resurgent COVID-19 pandemic has led to a second straight day of at least 58,000 new cases in the United States and the nation’s top infectious diseases expert says a number of states should consider locking down again.
The United States reported 58,600 new cases on Wednesday, according to an update Thursday by researchers at Johns Hopkins University. Tuesday, there were a little more than 60,000 cases nationwide.
“I think that any state that has a problem, that state should seriously look at shutting down,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said Wednesday in a Wall Street Journal podcast.
Fauci was asked if the states seeing a resurgence of cases should emulate New York in ordering strict controls on businesses and social gatherings.
“It’s not for me to say, because each state is different,” he answered. “But… New York did it, and it worked.”
Fauci again acknowledged that some states “went too fast” in reopening their economies.
“There’s admission from within — some states went too fast. Some states went according to what the timetable was but the people in the state didn’t listen and just threw caution to the wind,” he said.
Wednesday’s case total is the nation’s second-highest daily figure, and came on a day when the United States surpassed the 3 million case mark. About 132,000 U.S. patients have died of the coronavirus disease, according to Johns Hopkins.
California and Texas also reported new single-day highs on Wednesday.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti warned that the city could reinstate a strict stay-at-home mandate if cases and hospitalizations continue to rise.
“There are still too many social gatherings, maybe too many pool parties this weekend, too many play dates, too many family bar-b-ques not just with your household,” he told reporters at a briefing. “This is what COVID-19 thrives off of.”
In Texas, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner canceled the Texas Republican Party’s convention, which was scheduled to open next week.
“Look, these are some very serious times, and the safety of people attending the convention, the employees, their family members, the people in the city of Houston, have their public health concerns,” Turner said. “First responders and municipal workers will all be in contact or in proximity to the indoor gathering. Public health concerns outweigh anything else.”
GOP officials promised to fight the cancellation in court.
“This cancellation is not about the health and safety of Houstonians or the delegates and guests to our convention,” Texas Republican Party Chairman James Dickey said. “If Mayor Turner’s motivations were pure, he could have cancelled the lease weeks ago. Instead, he waited until the eve of the convention to inflict the greatest disruption.”
