On Sunday, Johns Hopkins – the university largely credited for tracking U.S. COVID cases throughout the pandemic – recorded 11 million total cases of the coronavirus in the U.S. since January. This news came as two states, California and Texas, recorded 1 million positive cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Those are the first two states to hit that grim milestone.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) latest weekly report noted that increases in cases across the Central and Mountain regions were higher than at any other point during the pandemic. The country as a whole hit 10.5% positivity last week compared to 8.4% the week prior.
According to that report, the sole state at “Very High” risk was Iowa. On Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced a 6 p.m. CST press conference to address the rising COVID cases in the state, including record-setting positive cases and deaths on an almost daily basis.
The state does not have a full mask mandate in place, but Reynolds announced more places where masks must be worn last week. There was no limit set on restaurant capacity at press time.
Since our update on Friday, four states or cities have enacted tougher restrictions amid the rise in cases, and many of the guidelines are lasting far longer than the two-week initial lockdowns and restrictions the country saw at the beginning of the pandemic.
The Navajo Nation reinstated a total lockdown – the first since the initial pandemic lockdowns – on Monday. The reservations in Arizona, New Mexico and more are closed to visitors. Residents are told to shelter in place for the next three weeks. Essential businesses such as gas stations and grocery stores are allowed to open, but only from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This is the strictest guidance any community in the U.S. has seen since the pandemic began.
The city of Philadelphia is closing indoor dining entirely Nov. 21 through Jan. 1 while neighboring states of New York and New Jersey are expected to announce additional restrictions in the next few days.
Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee enacted a four-week restriction for the state limiting restaurants to take-out and delivery only.
California, which has been classifying states by colored tiers since the beginning of the pandemic, announced that 41 of the state's 58 counties would be rolling back to purple. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press conference on Monday night "we are sounding the alarm."
The new restrictions of the "purple tier" limit restaurants to take-out, delivery and outdoor dining only. Gov. Newsom also warned that a curfew may be imminent.
See the latest state and city changes related to the coronavirus pandemic.
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