The Latest: Utah implements statewide mask mandate
SALT LAKE CITY — Deeply conservative Utah began a major shift in fighting the coronavirus pandemic Monday, implementing a statewide mask mandate for the first time and planning a dramatic increase in testing.
The move came a couple of days after the presidential race was called for Democrat Joe Biden, but Republican Gov. Gary Herbert said the mask mandate’s timing wasn’t political. He said it was an essential move to avoid disaster with a surge already threatening to overwhelm hospitals ahead of the holiday season.
He says politics has gotten in the way of addressing the crisis effectively.
Utah joins more than 30 other states that have implemented statewide mask orders since the pandemic began.
___
HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:
— Pfizer says an early peek at its vaccine data suggests the shots may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19
— Hungary unveils toughest virus measures yet, Portugal enters new state of emergency to fight rising infections
— Belgian health authorities are confident a renewed surge of hospital admissions related to COVID-19 has peaked in the hard-hit country.
— With the campaign over, President-elect Biden is pivoting to fighting the coronavirus pandemic
— Germany says increase in new coronavirus infections appears to be levelling off, too early to talk about a reversal of the trend.
___
— Follow AP’s coronavirus pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
___
HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — More than 700 people in Maryland were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Monday morning, an increase of 52 in a 24-hour period and the highest since mid-June, the state reported.
Of the 707 people in the hospital, the state reported 168 were in intensive care. Hospitalizations have climbed in recent weeks. On Oct. 1, there were 331 people hospitalized.
Gov. Larry Hogan, who warned of a surge in coronavirus cases at a news conference last week, said Monday on Twitter that the state has reached “a critical point” in the fight against COVID-19.
The governor said Maryland’s seven-day positivity rate exceeds 5% for the first time since June 24.
“While our state has been preparing for this fall surge for the past eight months, we cannot afford to let our guard down,” the Republican governor said. “Wear a mask, wash your hands, and watch your distance.”
___
ROME — Several regions in Italy, from north to south, are being put under semi-lockdown restrictions by the government, struggling to tamp down a several weeks-long surge in COVID-19 infections.
Governors of the regions said they were informed about the measures, which will take effect on Wednesday, including a ban on leaving one’s town except for essential reasons and closing restaurants, bars and cafes except for takeout and delivery orders.
Getting the “orange-zone” designation will be Liguria, a seaside region in northwest Italy; the north central regions of Umbria and Tuscany; the south-central region of Abruzzo, and Basilicata in the southern “instep” of the boot-shaped peninsula.
Italy’s health minister was expected to formalize the designation on Monday night.
Last week, four regions became “red zones,” which endure the most severe restrictions currently in Italy, which greatly limit the reasons citizens can leave their homes.
The government on Tuesday was expected to decide whether to make southern Campania, whose chief city is densely populated Naples, a red zone.
For days now in Naples, people with COVID-19 have lined up in cars outside overtaxed emergency rooms to receive oxygen from medical personnel going from car-to-car.
Campania’s Gov. Vincenzo De Luca on Monday decried the “scandalous” crowds of Neapolitans, many of them mask-less, thronging the city’s waterfront over the weekend.
___
WASHINGTON — The U.S. has confirmed more than 10 million coronavirus cases, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, as infections continue to rise in nearly every state.
The U.S. hit the milestone on Monday.
New daily confirmed cases are up more than 60% over the past two weeks, to an average of nearly 109,000 a day. Average daily cases are on the rise in 48 states.
The U.S. accounts for about one fifth of the world’s 50 million confirmed cases.
U.S. coronavirus deaths are up 18% over the past two weeks, averaging 939 every day. The virus has now killed more than 237,000 Americans.
___
PARIS — France counted 551 deaths linked to Covid-19 in hospitals in the last 24 hours, a record number since the start of the second wave of the virus sweeping across the country, France’s health chief said Monday.
“The spike is ahead of us. The second wave is still progressing,” Jerome Salomon said at a news conference.
The latest count brought the total number of people who have died in France since the start of the pandemic to 40,987.
France holds the grim distinction of being the 4th country in the world in number of cases — more than 1.8 million as of Monday — since the coronavirus began stalking the globe in early 2020. However, Soloman attributed the figure to increased testing, with 2.3 million tests carried out this week.
The health chief also noted a glimmer of hope: signs of a possible slowing of infections in areas where additional measures to curb the virus spread were put in force.
France has entered a second lockdown but with schools remaining open this time. But a curfew also was recently put in force in Paris and some other areas which means, for instance, that there can be no takeout deliveries of food after 10 p.m.
___
NEW ORLEANS — New Orleans will this week allow bars to open at 25% capacity as it further eases restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said Monday.
Other changes include an increase in the number of people allowed at indoor gatherings from 50 to 100. At outdoor gatherings, the limit goes from 100 to 150.
The new “Phase 3.3” restrictions take effect Wednesday.
The city eased restrictions and let bars open for a time earlier this year, only to shut them down again amid a second surge of the coronavirus. Since then, the city has incrementally eased restrictions — for example allowing outdoor seating at bars allowing take out alcoholic beverages and allowing bars that operate as restaurants to have limited indoor service.
Dr. Jennifer Avegno, the city health director, said the city is in a position to further ease restrictions this week because New Orleans has so far avoided the latest resurgence of case that has occurred in much of the nation. “We’re an outlier,” she said. “We are a good outlier and we want to remain it.”
Avegno said the city’s priority remains maintaining safety at schools. Public schools in the city have gradually increased in-school classes since mid-October and city officials have stressed that restrictions will be tightened if need be to protect that progress.
Officials also addressed the Monday announcement from Pfizer that early results from its coronavirus vaccine suggest it may be 90% effective at preventing COVID-19, putting the company on track to apply later this month for emergency-use approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
Once a vaccine is available to the general public, she said— noting that health care workers and vulnerable populations such as nursing home residents will get high priorities — distribution in the city will be similar in many ways to public testing, with efforts to make vaccinations available for many at drive-through and walk-up locations.
___
JERUSALEM — Thousands of ultra-orthodox Jews have defied coronavirus restrictions to attend a funeral in Jerusalem for a prominent American rabbi.
It was the latest in a series of mass gatherings held in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community, where many have flouted restrictions on religious events and clashed with police. The insular community has meanwhile seen high rates of infection throughout the pandemic.
Israeli media reported that the funeral held Monday for Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, who died in New York on Friday at the age of 91, drew thousands of people. His body was brought to Jerusalem for burial.
Videos circulating online showed scuffles between mourners and Israeli police.
Israel is gradually emerging from its second nationwide lockdown since the pandemic began. The country has reported nearly 320,000 cases, including 2,674 deaths.
___
OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts announced new restrictions Monday requiring masks in certain circumstances to slow the spread of the coronavirus, but he continued to reject the idea of a statewide mask mandate.
Under the new restrictions that take effect on Wednesday, masks will be required at businesses where employees have close contact with customers for more than 15 minutes, such as salons and massage parlors. At bars, masks will be required when people aren’t drinking or eating.
“I think mask mandates just breed resistance from people,” Ricketts said. “I think what we have to do is continue to educate people about when you use a mask.”
The new rules also include restricting indoor gatherings to 25% of a building’s capacity, down from the current 50% rule, and attendance at youth sporting events will be limited to the immediate families of participants. But restaurants and bars can continue operating at full capacity as long as they maintain 6 feet of distance between tables and limit groups to no more than eight people.
“We’ve taken the approach the entire time along that we are going to work to be able to preserve our hospital capacity,” Ricketts said. “That said, we are going to try to keep it as light a touch as possible so that we can preserve people’s freedoms to the extent that we can and try to find that balancing act between the two.”
Ricketts announced the new rules as the state reported 794 people were hospitalized with the virus Sunday, up from the previous day’s record of 760 — more than double the number of hospitalizations three weeks ago. The rate of new virus cases in the state remained the seventh-highest in the nation on Sunday.
___
LONDON — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged Britons not to slacken their resolve in battling the coronavirus despite news of a vaccine on the horizon, warning that the country is now “heading towards the levels of the previous peak” in terms of COVID-19 patients in hospital.
Johnson told a televised news conference on Monday that the number of those patients has increased to 13,000 as of Nov.5. Commenting on the Pfizer vaccine, he stressed that it was very early days and “we cannot let our enthusiasm tonight run away with us.”
England’s deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam echoed Johnson’s cautious tone, warning people not to relax and not to “get overexcited about where we are.” He said he was hopeful that “we could begin to see some vaccine by Christmas,” and added that when it gets to the stage when vaccines are authorized for distribution in the U.K., age will be the main factor in deciding who gets priority.
A new round of tough national coronavirus restrictions in England came into effect last Thursday, forcing all restaurants, pubs and non-essential shops to shutter until Dec.2. Schools and universities remain open.
___
O’FALLON, Mo. -- Missouri’s largest county offered a dire warning to its 1 million residents on Monday: New restrictions will be necessary unless the coronavirus surge is brought under control.
St. Louis County already requires face coverings and has imposed other restrictions, but Democratic Executive Sam Page said at a news conference that with cases rising again and hospitals filling quickly, more drastic measures could be announced next week.
“No one wants to shut down our economy and no one wants more restrictions,” Page said. “We understand how harmful that will be. But we can’t stand by as this virus continues to rage in our community.”
Missouri is among dozens of states seeing a big increase in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. After reaching new records in cases several times last week, culminating with a high of 4,559 on Saturday, the state health department reported better numbers Monday — 3,244 new cases and no new deaths.
It’s too early to tell if that was a one-day blip or the start of a trend.
State data showed Missouri’s positivity rate at 19.5% — nearly four times the benchmark suggested by the World Health Organization. Missouri has now reported 212,441 confirmed cases and 3,153 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
On Sunday, Dr. Alex Garza of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force cited a “frightening” amount of virus in the St. Louis area, and he warned that hospitals are increasingly overwhelmed. Average daily hospitalizations and admissions have more than doubled over the past month at St. Louis-area hospitals.