WASHINGTON DC (US) – After facing budget shortfalls and double-digit unemployment, governors of US states that are COVID-19 hotspots on Thursday went ahead with economic reopenings, stoking fears of a second wave of infections.
The decision to reopen the economy was taken by governors of states such as Florida and Arizona as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the country could not afford to let the novel coronavirus shut its economy again and global stocks tanked amidst worries of a pandemic resurgence.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unveiled a plan to reopen public schools at “full capacity” in the autumn as the state reported its highest daily tally of new coronavirus cases on Thursday. He argued that the state’s economy depended on it.
For the fifth consecutive day on Thursday, North Carolina reported record COVID-19 hospitalisations. This came a day after lawmakers passed a bill to reopen gyms, fitness centres and bars in a state where more than one in 10 workers are jobless.
Governors of hotspot states are under pressure to fire up economies facing fiscal year 2021 budget shortfalls of up to 30% below pre-pandemic projections in the case of New Mexico, according to data from the think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Nevada, where coronavirus cases increased by almost a third over the past two weeks, suffers from 28% unemployment as per figures of the US Bureau of Labor.
“This is about saving lives, this is also about livelihoods in the state of Arizona,” Governor Doug Ducey told the media, adding that a second shutdown of the economy was “not under discussion” despite official figures showing a 211% rise in virus cases over the past 14 days.
About half a dozen states including Texas and Arizona are struggling to contain the rising numbers of coronavirus patients.
Ducey and Texas Governor Greg Abbott say their hospitals have the capacity to avoid what happened in New York where the system was stretched so much that some COVID patients were treated in hallways and exhausted health workers stacked bodies in refrigerated trailers.
‘FOOT ON THE BRAKE’
Citing a surge in mobility since April, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said on Thursday a second wave of coronavirus deaths is expected to begin in the United States in September. Its latest model predicts 170,000 deaths by Oct. 1, with a possible range between 133,000 and 290,000.
There was a note of caution from the state of Utah where Governor Gary Herbert said most of the states would pause its reopening following a 126% rise in cases over the past two weeks.
Austin, Texas on Thursday also said it would likely extend stay-at-home and mask orders past June 15 after the state reported its highest count of new coronavirus cases the previous day. Health officials in the state laid the blame on easing business restrictions and Memorial Day gatherings.
New Mexico Health Secretary Kathy Kunkel pointed to virus outbreaks at the Otero County Prison Facility, as well as in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, as factors behind the spurt in cases.
“It means a little bit of a foot on the brake, watch carefully for the next couple of weeks, not much in the way of major changes in what we’re doing,” said Human Services Secretary David Scrase.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field