Diana Vega, a registered respiratory therapist, peeks through a curtain during setup at a temporary coronavirus testing site. Photo / AP
Diana Vega, a registered respiratory therapist, peeks through a curtain during setup at a temporary coronavirus testing site. Photo / AP
Fourth of July gatherings, graduation parties, no-mask weddings, crowded bars — there are reasons the US has racked up more than 155,000 coronavirus deaths, by far the most of any country, and is fast approaching an off-the-charts 5 million confirmed infections, easily the highest in the world.
Workers from Servpro disinfect Mugshots restaurant in Tupelo, Mississippi. Photo / AP
Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an overreaction or an infringement on their liberty. Public health experts say the problem has been compounded by confusing and inconsistent guidance from politicians and a patchwork quilt of approaches to containing the scourge by county, state and federal governments.
"The thing that's maddening is country after country and state after state have shown us how we can contain the virus," said Dr Jonathan Quick of the Duke Global Health Institute. "It's not like we don't know what works. We do."
Confirmed infections in the US have topped 4.7 million, with new cases running at more than 60,000 a day. While that's down from a peak of well over 70,000 in the second half of July, cases are on the rise in 26 states, many in the South and West, and deaths are climbing in 35 states.
A trainer and club member at Mountainside Fitness, Thursday, July 2, 2020, in Phoenix, which has challenged Gov. Doug Ducey's gym shutdown order. Photo / AP
On average, the number of Covid-19 deaths per day in the US over the past two weeks has gone from about 780 to 1056, according to an Associated Press analysis.
In Massachusetts, health officials are investigating at least a half-dozen new clusters of cases connected to such events as a lifeguard party, a high school graduation party, a prom party, an unsanctioned football camp and a packed harbour cruise trip.
One recent house party on Cape Cod attended by as many as 60 people led to more than a dozen new cases and prompted some restaurants to close or limit service at the height of tourist season.
Hot spots around the US are popping up in what once seemed like ideal places to ride out the outbreak: rural, less populated and with lots of outdoor space. In South Dakota, a spike erupted at a Christian youth summer camp in the Black Hills, with cases growing to 96 among 328 people who attended.
Diana Vega, a registered respiratory therapist, instructs Nevada National Guardsman on how to test people during the setup of a temporary coronavirus testing site. Photo / AP
"We're at a point where there's enough spread of Covid-19 that people throughout the US are at an increased likelihood of encountering the virus and getting exposed," University of Florida epidemiologist Dr Cindy Prins said.
She added: "This is a behavioural disease right now for a lot of people." Prevention means "changing our behavior, and it's so hard for humans to do. We're social creatures".
In Mississippi, Republican Governor Tate Reeves grudgingly reversed course and announced a statewide order requiring the wearing of masks because of a resurgence of the virus. He also delayed the start of the school year for upper grades in eight hard-hit counties.
"Wearing a mask — as irritating as it can be, and I promise you I hate it more than anyone watching today — is critical," he said.
A sign informs customers at the Edison Hotel restaurant about wearing a protective face mask during the coronavirus pandemic. Photo / AP
In Virginia, cases have surged so much in cities like Norfolk and Virginia Beach that Democratic Governor Ralph Northam placed limits there last week on alcohol sales and gatherings of more than 50 people. Northam, the nation's only governor who is a doctor, cited rising infections among young people and said the problem is that "too many people are selfish".
"We all know that alcohol changes your judgment," he said. "You just don't care as much about social distancing after you've had a couple of drinks."
Dr Demetria Lindsay, the Virginia Department of Health's district director for Virginia Beach and Norfolk, said there has been a pronounced spike among people aged 20 to 29. She said the factors behind the surge include gatherings of people not wearing masks or maintaining a safe distance.
"Father's Day, Memorial Day, graduations, birthdays, backyard barbecues, you name it," Lindsay said.
Members of the Nevada National Guard install social distancing stickers while setting up a new temporary coronavirus testing site. Photo / AP
In Brandon, South Dakota, thousands of car racing fans packed the 9000-seat Huset's Speedway over the weekend. Many did not cover their faces or stay away from others.
"We're kind of over this whole Covid thing. I won't wear a mask unless I absolutely have to," 21-year-old Veronica Fritz said. She added: "I am a very strong Christian and I know where I'm going, and I believe God will take me when I'm supposed to go. So if I get Covid and I die from Covid, it's not my decision."
Josie Machovec, a mother of three who is suing over a mask ordinance in Palm Beach County, Florida, said that she doesn't believe the government has the right to require people to wear medical devices, and that she hasn't seen clear evidence that masks stop transmission of the virus.
"I'm someone who has looked into this extensively and don't feel that it's the right thing for me and my kids. If we are healthy, we don't need to be wearing them," she said, "and if we're not healthy, if we're sick, then we stay home."
Nurses Karla Salazar, right, and Marisol Perez work in a tent set up to help treat COVID-19 patients at El Centro Regional Medical Center in El Centro, California. Photo / AP
Nearly a quarter of Wisconsin's more than 55,000 cases had been confirmed over the past 14 days. Much of the spike has occurred in the state's densely urban southeastern corner, but the disease has also spread with amazing speed in rural and sparsely populated northern Wisconsin.
Zona Wick, a spokeswoman and contact tracer for Iron County's health department, blamed July Fourth gatherings, birthday and graduation parties, out-of-county visitors and people crowding into bars.
"The Fourth of July was tough on us," Wick said. "People had a bit of quarantine fatigue, is what I'm calling it. People got a bit tired of staying in. People just got together like they have for years on the Fourth of July and spread it to one another."
The wedding industry likewise is seeing no-mask receptions with busy dance floors and no social distancing.
Wedding planner Lynne Goldberg has a December wedding scheduled for 200 guests at the home of the bride's parents in upstate New York.
"They have emphatically shared that this pandemic is not going to get in the way of their wedding plans and that there will be no masks handed out and no signs promoting social distancing at their wedding," she said. "The bride has said that when she shows her children her wedding video, she doesn't want it to be a documentary of the 2020 pandemic."
