Earlier today, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky made it very clear that Americans should not let their guard down simply because we have been recording a decrease in the number of new coronavirus cases and deaths.
“I want to be clear: Cases, hospital admissions, and deaths all remain very high, and the recent shift in the pandemic must be taken extremely seriously,” Walensky said. “We cannot be resigned to 70,000 cases per day, 2,000 daily deaths,” Walensky said.
Even though the nation has been warned that relaxing restrictions may be dangerous and counter-productive, it seems that a number of state officials are not taking the CDC’s recommendations seriously. They are also disregarding the fact that Sunday marked the first time in more than a month that most states reported rising coronavirus case counts.
The Associated Press is reporting that on Monday, Massachusetts made it much easier to grab dinner and a show, while in Missouri, where communities are allowed to make their own rules, St. Louis and Kansas City, the two biggest metropolitan areas, are relaxing some restrictions.
Iowa’s governor recently lifted mask requirements and limits on the number of people allowed in bars and restaurants, while the town of Lawrence, home to the University of Kansas, now allows establishments to stay open until midnight.
USA Today is reporting that in Virginia, officials have removed the midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew, and is increasing capacity for outdoor gatherings. Wyoming is lifting all restrictions on personal care businesses, and New Jersey is reopening large entertainment venues at 10 percent capacity indoors.
It may ease some people’s minds to know that ignoring health warnings is not reserved for state officials here in the U.S. It is happening around the globe as economies are rushing to get back to some semblance of normal.
The full remarks by @DrTedros at the #COVID19 media briefing – 1 March 2021 ⬇️March 1, 2021
Globally, coronavirus infections increased last week after six consecutive weeks of declining totals, and World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at a press briefing, said the increase in cases was “disappointing but not surprising”, noting that the upward trend was taking place everywhere in the world apart from Africa and the Western Pacific region.
“Some of it appears to be due to relaxing of public health measures, continued circulation of variants, and people letting down their guard,” he said.
The U.S. has more than 28.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 513,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 114.3 million cases and 2.53 million deaths.
More than 96.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and about 76.9 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
