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 The surge of COVID hospitalizations and new cases in some states
coincides with U.S. President Donald Trump and several members of
his White House staff testing positive for the novel coronavirus.
Trump's doctors on Tuesday said he was not displaying any acute
symptoms after he left the Walter Reed Medical Center, where he was
treated for three days.
The spike in reported hospitalizations on Monday hit states in the
Midwest the hardest, with Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South
Dakota, and Wyoming reporting their highest figures, according to a
Reuters tally. Wisconsin has 782 hospitalized coronavirus patients,
compared with 433 two weeks ago.
Wisconsin's Department of Health Services issued a directive that
gatherings will be limited to no more than 25% of a room or
building's total occupancy.
"We're in a crisis right now and need to immediately change our
behavior to save lives," Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a
statement. "We are continuing to experience a surge in cases and
many of our hospitals are overwhelmed, and I believe limiting indoor
public gatherings will help slow the spread of this virus."
NEW YORK HOTSPOTS
In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced new restrictions as the
state has seen new hotspots pop up in and around New York City, the
hardest-hit metropolitan area in the United States. Among the
"intense" cluster areas that will need to apply the governor's
strictest new shutdown orders are parts of Brooklyn, Queens and
parts of Rockland and Orange Counties.
The new restrictions affect houses of worship the most - those in
hotspots are now required to operate at 25% of capacity with a
maximum of 10 people. Schools are being closed in some areas.
Cuomo said that while the new restrictions are necessary - they were
"only as good as they're enforced, and a lack of enforcement has
contributed to this problem."
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"There is no way we didn't see this coming," Cuomo said.
The news was better farther north - in Maine the governor outlined the next
reopening steps.
Governor Janet Mills said Maine was moving into the fourth stage of restarting
the state's economy, saying that as of Oct. 13, churches, restaurants and
cinemas in the state would be allowed to operate at 50% capacity.
In Washington, Republican Trump abruptly ended talks
https://www.reuters.com/
article/idUSL1N2GX0BC with Democrats on an economic stimulus bill to deliver
pandemic aid to Americans before the November elections, sending the stock
market sliding.
Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Trump's decision
shows he is "putting himself first at the expense of the country" with cases
rising in the United States. The total number of diagnosed infections is an
estimated 7.5 million and more than 210,600 people have died in the pandemic,
the highest in the world.
(GRAPHIC: Interactive graphic tracking global spread of coronavirus - https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/)
(Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Maria Caspani in New York and Lisa Shumaker
in Washington; Additional reporting by Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; editing by
Bill Tarrant and Grant McCool)
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