Battles over wearing face coverings intensified even as the US shattered another daily coronavirus record and health officials warned hospitalizations are getting out of control in some areas.
Battles over wearing face coverings intensified even as the US shattered another daily coronavirus record and health officials warned hospitalizations are getting out of control in some areas.
There were 77,255 new cases reported Thursday, topping a previous high set two days ago, according to Johns Hopkins University. At least 943 people were reported dead that day.
More than 77,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the US on Thursday, the most ever
More than 138,000 people have died from coronavirus nationwide, and experts warn that number will likely go up as hospitalizations rise in several states. In Texas and Arizona, morgues are filling up in the hardest-hit areas and officials are bringing in coolers and refrigerated trailers to store bodies.
In South Texas’ Hidalgo County, some patients have to wait on a stretcher for 10 hours before being examined due to lack of resources, said Dr. Ivan Melendez, the public health authority.
“We are in dire need, and we are exhausted,” he said. “We had four ICU patients. Now we have 211. We had three people on ventilators. Now we have 135.”
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The county has seen more than 10,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases — more than 1,200 reported Thursday alone, he said.
Debate over wearing masks heats up
As some states struggled to tame the virus, the debate over wearing face coverings is heating up. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Thursday over her efforts to require face masks in public places.
Kemp extended Georgia’s emergency coronavirus restrictions and said while people are “strongly encouraged” to wear face coverings — they’re not required. While the order limits public gatherings to 50 people and mandates social distancing, it also prevents local governments from implementing stricter rules than the state’s — including requiring face masks.
But Bottoms’ office told CNN her order remains in effect. “Science and data will continue to drive the city’s decisions. Masks save lives,” a spokesman said.
City officials took their outcry to social media, where the mayor tweeted that “a better use of tax payer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr tweeted that residents are urged to wear masks but the lawsuit is about the “rule of law.
