There is a sudden increase in COVID-19 cases in California, despite unprecedented blockages and restrictions aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus.
Earlier this week, the state exceeded 2 million confirmed cases and beds in many intensive care units are dangerously low. In Los Angeles County, the epicenter of the virus in California, the county’s Department of Public Health said on Thursday that about 14,000 residents tested positive for COVID-19 each day and hospitals admitted 1,000 new coronavirus patients daily.
As of Thursday, the state has reported nearly 24,000 deaths and more than 39,000 new cases and 312 deaths in the 24-hour period since Wednesday.
A health expert called the wave a “viral tsunami,” reported the Daily Mail. State leaders have contacted Australia and Taiwan to fill 3,000 temporary healthcare vacancies as the hospital remains full.
Earlier this month, Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, warned that strict blocking measures would be approved regionally when the ICU bed capacity falls below the 15% mark. Days later, Los Angeles County was placed under the new blockade orders.
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The order prohibits private meetings of any size and only critical infrastructure and retail can remain open. Bars, hairdressers, barber shops, casinos and indoor and outdoor playgrounds were closed. Retail stores are limited to 20% of capacity and restaurants must operate only for delivery and delivery.
Residents should wear masks whenever they are away from home and continue to distance themselves physically from others.
The problem is that many have failed to comply with the guidelines, as people continue to meet in large groups with others outside the home. Some experts have defended against the harsh restrictions, saying the authorities should focus on those who are most vulnerable.
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“The right approach, before the vaccine, is to work to protect the elderly. These are the people – especially living in nursing homes – who are most at risk of death if they are infected with ”COVID19, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, professor of medicine at Stanford University, said earlier this month.
The right policy would be to protect the elderly regardless of where they live, elderly people with chronic illnesses who are in the workforce and essential workers like janitors or bus drivers, he said.
“Considering that these broad blocks, I think they do a lot of damage to non-elderly people. They are not doing much to slow the spread of the disease, ”he said.
The World Health Organization envoy, Dr. David Nabarro, said that such restrictive measures should be treated only as a last resort.
“We at the World Health Organization do not advocate blockages as the main means of controlling this virus,” said Nabarro in an interview with British magazine The Spectator.
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Fox News contributor Dr. Marc Siegel also criticized widespread blockages as an old-fashioned model borrowed from the Spanish Flu of 1918, and what would be most effective today is a “laser block”.
“I want to do laser blocks, where we close things that are the main offenders,” said Siegel. “Sure, bars are a problem – in the middle of the night with people shouting, drinking and cursing each other or whatever you do in bars with poor ventilation. But how does this apply to outdoor restaurants with physical distance?”
Across the country, the virus killed more than 320,000 people, according to the COVID screening project.
Bradford Betz of Fox News contributed to this report.