From Yahoo:
“White House document shows 18
states in coronavirus ‘red zone’”
A new White House Coronavirus
Task Force report shows that 18 states are in the COVID-19 “red zone,” meaning
they recorded more than 100 new cases per 100,000 residents in the past week. The
359-page document, which was obtained by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit
Center for Public Integrity and dated July 14, also shows that 11 states are
now reporting positivity rates exceeding 10 percent for COVID-19 diagnostic
tests.
The 18 states in the “red zone”
for new cases are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia,
Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.
The 11 states with test
positivity rates above 10 percent — another “red zone” designation — are
Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada,
South Carolina, Texas and Washington.
The report, which was not shared
publicly, recommends that states in the “red zone” for either cases or test
positivity mandate the use of masks, limit social gatherings to 10 people or
fewer and maintain the closure of bars and gyms in cities and counties
considered to be “hot spots.” At a task force briefing earlier this month, Dr.
Deborah Birx presented slides from a similar report showing Arizona,
California, Florida and Texas were among the states in "red zones,"
and said people living in them should "not only use the face
coverings" but limit gatherings "back down to our phase-one
recommendation, which was 10 or less." The nation is still struggling to
contain the virus, which has killed more than 138,000 Americans and infected
over 3.6 million U.S. citizens. More than 74,000 new coronavirus cases were
reported nationwide on Thursday, the most in a single day. The White House said
Thursday that President Trump does not want to issue a nationwide mask mandate
to combat the coronavirus and instead will leave those restrictions up to state
and local governments. That same day, the governors of Arkansas and Colorado
became the latest to issue mask mandates. But Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whose
state is in the “red zone” for both cases and test positivity, is refusing to
do so. (Kemp even sued Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her city’s mask
order.) Meanwhile, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of
Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House coronavirus
task force, said state and local leaders should be “as forceful as possible” to
get the public to wear masks. “I can say as a public health official that I
would urge the leaders — the local, political, and other leaders in states and
cities and towns — to be as forceful as possible in getting your citizenry to
wear masks,” Fauci said Friday. “Masks are really important. And we should be
using them — everyone.”
^ Even though Trump refuses to
acknowledge the reality around him and the country – that Covid-19 is
uncontrollable right now – it’s somewhat better knowing that people behind him
and behind the scenes know the truth. Now if only we could get Trump and others
to act on the truth to save lives. ^
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