The White House said on March 3 that President Joe Biden hoped Americans would continue to follow coronavirus guidelines such as mask-wearing even as some states, including Texas, lift their restrictions amid the ongoing pandemic.
Even this far into the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing masks is still a hot-button issue in various areas across the country, according to a study by Embee Mobile and the University of California Berkeley.
Severe Covid-19 infections are beginning to abate in many parts of the United States even as the death toll mounts, signaling an end to the pandemic’s post-holiday surge and prompting some states to ease public health restrictions.
Britain became the first country to vaccinate its population with Oxford University and AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 shot on Jan. 4, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to tighten restrictions in England in a bid to slow the spread of cases.
California shattered records for coronavirus cases on Dec. 6 as U.S. states scrambled to impose lockdowns to stem spikes in infections and the White House’s task force coordinator decried a lack of national leadership on curbing the disease.
The United States set single-day records for new infections and deaths as California’s governor said he would impose some of the nation’s strictest stay-at-home orders in the coming days when intensive care units are expected to reach capacity.
The United States recorded the country’s largest weekly rise in Covid-19 deaths since August, increasing 32% from the previous week to average about 1,500 people per day, according to a Reuters analysis of state and county reports.
The city of Philadelphia will ban indoor gatherings altogether and the nearby state of New Jersey will strictly limit their size as U.S. officials struggle to slow a Covid-19 surge that could overwhelm hospitals and kill thousands.
Bristol Myers Squibb said the U.S. health regulator deferred a decision on an experimental blood cancer therapy that the company acquired in the $74 billion buyout of Celgene due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
Six states reported record numbers of hospitalized Covid-19 patients, including Wisconsin, where officials issued a new order limiting the size of indoor public gatherings.