Cases of the novel coronavirus continue to spike in at least 10 US states as some governors revisit the issue of making face coverings mandatory as a way to halt infections.
In Arizona, a number of cities have announced new face mask requirements, after getting the okay from Governor Doug Ducey to do so last night. Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa, and Flagstaff mayors quickly took to Twitter to confirm their cities now required face mask use in public spaces.
Ducey also announced 300 Arizona National Guard members will be called on to perform contact tracing in the coming weeks in an effort to control the state's outbreak.
According to the dashboard maintained by the Arizona Department of Health Services, the state tracked another record-setting day yesterday, with 2,519 new cases. The state's total is now 43,443 cases and 1,271 deaths.
In Texas, Bexar and Hidalgo counties and the city of Austin have all issued new mask regulations in the past 24 hours, according to the Texas Tribune. The new rules require employees and customers to wear masks when physical distancing isn't possible inside businesses.
Texas will likely hit 100,000 COVID-19 cases by the end of the week, with a state total 96,335 cases, including 2,062 fatalities.
US have now confirmed 2,181,762 COVID-19 cases and 118,279 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker.
Florida named as next US epicenter
A new model from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania suggests Florida is poised to become the nation’s next epicenter of the pandemic, due to its rising case counts, aging population, and prevalence of nursing homes and retirement communities.
"The most concerning areas for additional widespread community transmission continue to be in Texas, Arizona, the Carolinas and, once again, Florida," the modelers wrote in a blog post.
"In fact, Florida has all the makings of the next large epicenter…the risk there is the worst it has ever been in our projections. Miami and Florida's southeastern counties now join the Tampa/Fort Myers area and Orlando for a fairly widespread transmission event that we forecast will continue throughout the state."
According to CNN, Florida reported another 3,207 COVID-19 cases today, another new record. Those cases raise the state's total to almost 86,000.
New York City enters next phase of reopening
Next Monday bars and restaurants in New York City will be allowed to accommodate outdoor dining, and some businesses may open with restrictions, as the city enters its next phase, phase 2, of reopening after becoming the epicenter of America’s COVID-19 pandemic. Hair salons and in-store retail will also be allowed to open.
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the opening on Twitter and said New Yorkers should expect limited capacity in businesses and the wearing of face coverings.
New York has touted the importance of contact tracers in reopening plans, but a new survey from National Public Radio shows it is one of only seven states and the District of Columbia that have the level of staff they need, despite contact tracers rising nationwide from 11,142 to 37,110 workers in the past 6 weeks.
