How the West are losing the battle against COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY — Once upon a time in the West, it seemed like COVID-19 was about to leave town.

That’s not the case anymore.

Western states are now losing the fight against deadly viruses, and some have retreated to defensive mode when they open doors to bars, restaurants and other meetinghouses.

Please consider:

• Maricopa County, Arizona: 2 weeks ago — 1,754 COVID-19 cases per day. July 5 — 2,476.

• Salt Lake County, Utah: 2 weeks ago — 224. July 5 — 273.

• Orange County, California: 2 weeks ago — 262. July 5 — 899.

• Clark County, Nevada: 2 weeks ago — 280. July 5th-647.

• Canyon County, Idaho: 2 weeks ago — 16 cases. July 5 — 93.

These counties are among the coronavirus hotspots identified in the New York Times database due to unprecedented levels of cases throughout the western United States, especially in Arizona.

Utah has seen more positive cases in the last few weeks since the pandemic hit the United States. This includes a record total of 676 cases for the weekend. On Monday, Summit County reported 15 new cases. Not so much, but there were more than 15 new cases on April 9th.

Will Humble, a board member of the Arizona Public Health Association, gives a brief explanation of his state surge.

“Obviously, that’s human behavior at its heart. The virus makes a living from stupid human behavior. All roads lead to it,” he said in an interview. “But it didn’t happen because the question was what could be done to change behavior.”

Health professionals and politicians should be wary of reopening restaurants and bars too soon, residents not wearing face masks, lack of social distance, outbreaks at senior care centers and workplaces. He points out some of the factors behind the upward trend. And the increase in their numbers is not just from more tests.

The per capita case in Arizona was twice as high as the spikes in Florida and Texas, equivalent to some of Brazil’s worst cities, he said humbly.

“We are the epicenter of the world, which is a direct result of the policy decisions made in this state. Some say, “Oh, that’s just bad luck.” Well, that’s nonsense. This is absolutely unlucky. This is a policy decision and its impact on people and hospital systems in the state,” Humble told the Washington Post.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Garrego said on Sunday that the state was rushing to reopen.

“We opened in Arizona too early,” she said ABC’s “This week.. “We were one of the last states to go home, one of the first to reintegrate, and re-emerged from zero to 60.”

The Open Nightclub sent a signal that the state “defeated COVID again, but obviously not.”

“We were giving out free champagne without masks in a crowded nightclub. My own demographic, our 20s to 44s, is leading a really explosive moment Has seen such growth in that area,” she said. “We see a lot of people go to large family gatherings and get infected.”

According to Humble, the problem wasn’t so great, and the number of new cases actually stabilized, as Governor Arizona’s Doug Duchy canceled his home stay order on May 15, but it wasn’t housed in bars or restaurants. There was no limit on the number of people, and a night club was open in pre-pandemic mode.

“There were no mitigation requirements. There was a proposal. There was really no incentive for companies to do the right thing, because it was like a system of honor, and without it there was no punishment,” he said.

Following a packed weekend in Phoenix’s packed bars, clubs and pool, last Monday, Dusey ordered the bar, gym, theater and water park to close.

Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emphasized the need for young people to wear face masks at a recent Senate hearing.

“It’s important that we all personally take responsibility for delaying the transmission of COVID-19 and accepting the universal use of face covers. Specifically, I’m the younger generation of our society, Millennial. It’s about generations and generations Z,” he said.

Barbara Ferrer, the county’s director of public health, said in Los Angeles County that the dramatic surge in cases was not only the result of increased testing, but evidence of a “certain” increase in community infections. ..

Newly reopened bars, breweries, wineries, and similar businesses have attracted hundreds of thousands of Californians.

Authorities said 49% of county bars and 33% of restaurants did not comply with social distance protocols last week, Los Angeles Times report. Inspectors also found that 54% of bars and 44% of workers in restaurants did not wear face covers or shields.

“There were some companies and individuals who did not follow the directive and they came back to life like COVID-19 did not live in our community,” Ferrer said. Los Angeles Times.. “If you aren’t involved in a solution to slow down proliferation, you’ll end up being part of the problem.”

Dr Sankar Swaminathan, head of the Utah Health University Infectious Diseases Department, told Deseret News last week about the same thing.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Utah have expanded since late May when Governor Gary Herbert moved from orange or moderate risk to most of the state in yellow or low risk. I will. Utahns are back in stores, restaurants, churches and offices.

“When we hear that we turn yellow or green, I think people think it’s less risky. That’s actually the opposite. Swaminatan said, the more risk, the higher the risk. ..

Instead of taking more precautions, people are taking less because of increased activity and interaction.

“It’s a guaranteed increase in cases,” Swaminatan said.

Herbert resisted the state-wide obligation to cover the face, but allowed Salt Lake and Summit counties to impose their own masking policies. Salt Lake County last week extended the requirements until August 20, and Grand County was authorized to request masks in time for holiday weekends.

Some federal and state officials, including President Donald Trump, argue that the recent explosion in the reported COVID-19 case is due to more and better testing.

But Randall Bolten, a former Silicon Valley chief financial officer and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, said the claims were “recklessly dangerous.”

“The claim that the United States is the world leader in the COVID-19 test is entirely dishonest, especially if the real cause of the reported increase in cases is a raging pandemic,” he said on Monday. I wrote in a new study published.

Bolten said testing falls into two categories: need and strategy. Because the person is ill, the necessary tests will be done. Strategic tests are tests that are performed as a result of contact tracking and are regular tests for employees and others in delicate industries such as healthcare and food services.

Strategic testing is a true measure of the state’s efforts to control the pandemic epidemic, he said.

“At the moment, most of the wealthiest countries in the world have a significant test advantage over the United States in the test. The new case is that virtually all test capacity is devoted to strategic testing, not just the required testing. It’s as low as it can be,” Bolten wrote.

According to Bolten, the daily incidence of new cases in the United States is 10 to 20 times higher than in most of 41 countries, including most of Europe and other relatively wealthy countries.