California and Michigan moved to shut down indoor dining, and Philadelphia severely limited indoor gatherings. With more than 150,000 virus cases daily, the nation is shutting down again.
The scene was familiar: Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, addressing a rapidly escalating coronavirus surge in her state, stood at a lectern and somberly announced new restrictions meant to stop the virus from spreading out of control. Within hours, the backlash began. As the coronavirus crisis mounts with renewed force in the United States, surpassing 11 million total cases and threatening to overwhelm hospitals across the country, governors, mayors and other officials are ordering restrictions, and once again finding themselves in the crosscurrents of public health and economic crises. California, Washington State, Michigan and Oregon have shut indoor dining back down, among other measures. In Chicago, a new stay-at-home advisory went into effect on Monday. In Philadelphia, Mayor Jim Kenney introduced a sweeping new set of coronavirus rules, including a ban on most indoor private gatherings, with a plea for understanding: “We do not take any of this lightly,” he said. “Believe me, more than anything in the world, I wish none of this was necessary.” The new wave of restrictions comes at a time when health officials across the nation are reporting more new cases and more hospitalizations from the virus than ever before, and experts are warning that another 100,000 to 200,000 Americans could die from the virus in the next few months if significant action is not taken. But the new restrictions are meeting resistance, and it has been especially fierce in Michigan, where Governor Whitmer, a Democrat, said on Sunday evening that she would shut down indoor dining, shutter casinos and movie theaters, and halt in-person learning at high schools and colleges for three weeks. A Republican state legislator quickly called for her to be impeached, and Dr. Scott Atlas, President Trump’s coronavirus adviser, urged people in the state to “rise up” in protest. “The only way this stops is if people rise up. You get what you accept,” Dr. Atlas wrote on Twitter. On Monday, Ms. Whitmer said the statement left her “breathless.” “It’s just incredibly reckless, considering everything that has happened,” said Ms. Whitmer, who faced fierce opposition for her coronavirus restrictions in the spring: Mr. Trump tweeted a call to “liberate Michigan” and protesters at the State Capitol chanted, “Lock her up.” She was later the target of an alleged kidnapping plot by an antigovernment extremist group, the authorities said.
