North Carolina ‘s Gov. Roy Cooper in his coronavirus briefing on Monday urged citizens to get a COVID-19 test if they have been exposed to any crowd:
“We are seeing more viral spread, and these numbers are concerning,” Gov. Cooper said. “If you have been in any kind of crowd, please go get tested. When you’re around people, wear your masks and try to keep six feet away from others. Especially if you are a leader, set a good example.”
Cooper spoke briefly with protesters in Raleigh and will get a test today. New cases stemming from participation in the last two weeks of George Floyd protests nationwide will appear in two to three weeks.
North Carolina is among nearly two dozen states seeing climbing infection rates as they partly reopen their economies. Some of those numbers nationwide reflect increased testing capacity. Still, hospitalizations in North Carolina hit a record high on Monday. The state saw 1,370 new diagnoses confirmed on June 6, a new record.
“Our metrics have moved in the wrong direction,” Dr. Many Cohen told reporters. “I am concerned.”
Newsweek reports other states are seeing similar trends trends:
Arizona’s highest single-day increase came on June 5, with 1,579 new cases, according to local news outlets. Daily case counts have risen steadily since the end of May. The Arizona Department of Health’s latest report, published Sunday, notes a statewide increase of 1,438 additional diagnoses.
[…]
California reported its highest daily increase in cases this past Friday, with 3,593 new cases confirmed. Public health officials also confirmed the state’s previous single-day high one week before: 3,705 new cases on May 30. California’s outbreak trajectory began to trend upward during the last week of May. According to the state’s California Department of Public Health, officials have identified at least 2,000 new cases statewide every day since May 25.
Cases in Arkansas rose nearly 30 percent in the last week.
As the Trump administration tries to ignore the virus away, food pantries around the country are struggling to keep up with demand:
The economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, which has now left at least 20 million Americans unemployed, has pushed the nation’s network of food banks to the brink. Food pantries and other nonprofits are still seeing lines of cars with families waiting for hours to pick up food.
Advocates believe expanding food stamp programs is a more efficient way to get food to the hungry. Opposition in Congress, however, makes the idea a nonstarter, Politico reports, “even as Washington has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on other forms of aid like unemployment insurance and stimulus checks.”
The Atlantic adds:
But as the pandemic persists, more and more states are pulling back on the measures they’d instituted to slow the virus. The Trump administration’s Coronavirus Task Force is winding down its activities. Its testing czar is returning to his day job at the Department of Health and Human Services. As the long, hot summer of 2020 begins, the facts suggest that the U.S. is not going to beat the coronavirus.
The acting president needs his adulation from worshippers. He plans to restart his rallies in the next two weeks whatever the risks to their health. We’ll see how much he has to pad attendance numbers this time around.
● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
For The Win, 3rd Edition is ready for download. Request a copy of my free countywide GOTV mechanics guide at ForTheWin.us. This is what winning looks like.
Note: The pandemic will upend standard field tactics in 2020. If enough promising “improvisations” come my way by June, perhaps I can issue a COVID-19 supplement.