Washington, D.C., extended its stay-at-home order to June 8, two days before it was set to expire.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said her decision to extend was based on data, and the city would continue to take a methodical approach to reopening.
“Based on the data, I can revise this order at any time to reflect a phased reopening,” Bowser tweeted on Wednesday. “We will, until such time, extend to June 8, 2020. #StayHomeDC.”
The city’s situational update on its website noted that it would continue to monitor community spread, testing capacity healthcare, and public health system capacities as metrics for reopening. The district has seen more than 6,000 COVID-19 cases and 300 deaths attributed to the coronavirus.
The extension comes ahead of a pending decision by New York City officials to extend their stay-at-home order likely until June. New York is the nation’s largest hotbed for the coronavirus, with more cases than any other international counterpart outside the United States as of April.
Taking it a step further, Los Angeles County is aiming to extend its stay-at-home measures into July. The city of Los Angeles has become California’s leading area of concern, with the number of coronavirus cases overtaking the San Francisco Bay Area as a major hotbed. San Francisco Mayor London Breed said her city might extend protections further than the state to prevent an increase in cases. The mayor’s decision could be at odds with Gov. Gavin Newsom, who recently announced a plan to start phasing the state into reopening.
“We need to do so responsibly,” Breed said of San Francisco working with the state.
Georgia made national news last month for its early loosening of state restrictions prompted by Gov. Brian Kemp. The state reopened gyms, bowling alleys, and hair and nail salons with social distancing guidelines, which came at the ire of Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who described the move as a “massive health experiment” that puts lives at stake, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Georgia has seen nearly 35,000 cases and almost 1,500 deaths from the virus. Fulton County, which covers the majority of Atlanta, has 3,500 cases.
“I remain concerned,” Bottoms told NPR on Tuesday.”All of the numbers that you are seeing now, for as high as they are, it’s been with extreme social distancing measures in place.”
