The United States surpassed 7 million coronavirus cases Friday, roughly eight months after the first case was reported by Johns Hopkins University.
California leads the country with over 800,000 total cases, followed by Texas, Florida, and New York. Meanwhile, cases are surging in the Midwest in all states except Ohio, led by South Dakota, with more than 8,000 new cases, while North Dakota’s new cases doubled to 8,752 as compared to four weeks ago.
The rate of new cases is up 9% since last week, with an average of more than 43,000 new cases every day. Roughly 700 people have died each day in the past week, making the total number of deaths over 203,400, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
Former hot spots Arizona, New York, New Jersey, and California have all seen declining new case rates.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed an executive order Friday permitting bars and restaurants to reopen at full capacity. DeSantis included provisions in his order that will limit the number of restrictions local governments can place on businesses.
“We are today moving into what we initially called phase three,” DeSantis said. “And what that’ll mean for the restaurants is there will not be limitations from the state of Florida.”
The order removes state restrictions that forced bars and restaurants to limit seating capacity to 75% and establishes as a rule that no local government can make a law restricting capacity seating below 50%.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam and the first lady have both tested positive for the coronavirus, the governor’s office reported. The Northams were notified of their positive tests on Wednesday after having been notified that a staff member who “works closely within the couple’s living quarters” tested positive earlier this week.
“Both the Governor and First Lady received PCR nasal swab tests yesterday afternoon, and both tested positive,” the governor’s office said. “Governor Northam is experiencing no symptoms. First Lady Pamela Northam is currently experiencing mild symptoms. Both remain in good spirits.”
New York City health officials have begun carrying out emergency inspections in private religious schools in predominantly Orthodox Jewish communities in Queens and Brooklyn, where residents often do not wear masks or engage in social distancing. Mayor Bill de Blasio has authorized the Police Department and the Sheriff’s Office to enforce public health guidelines, the New York Times reported.
The health department said that if significant progress toward following the public health guidelines did not occur by Monday, officials could impose fines, limit gatherings, or force schools and businesses to close.
Many countries in Europe are seeing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases, but governments are reluctant to reinstate restrictions that helped get the virus under control in the spring, the Financial Times reported. Madrid’s Conservative-run regional government defied pressure from the left-wing national government to place the entire capital under lockdown. In Marseille, one of the hardest-hit regions in France, local bar and restaurant owners are protesting a two-week mandatory closure starting Saturday. Bars in Paris will have to close by 10 p.m.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to tighten recently reinstated restrictions on group sizes and limits on business operating hours. The capital was placed on higher alert after recording 620 cases, double the number a week ago.
“Ministers simply have to get a grip,” Khan said.
Israelis will only be able to fly out of the country if they purchased tickets before the second round of lockdown restrictions went into effect Friday afternoon, French news outlet AFP reported. Israel has recorded nearly 37,000 new cases over the past week, a per capita rate that is the highest in the world, according to New York Times data.
