California, slamming ‘emergency brake’ on reopening, is latest state to ramp up restrictions

Sweden on Monday announced new restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus, the country’s latest move to implement harsher measures after an initially lax response that relied on the public’s decision-making to stem the spread. Like much of Europe, Sweden has seen increasing hospitalizations and deaths, pushing the government to impose new rules. On Monday, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven announced a ban on public gatherings of more than eight people.

“It is a clear and sharp signal to every person in our country as to what applies in the future,” Lofven said during a news conference. “Don’t go to the gym, don’t go the library, don’t have dinner out, don’t have parties — cancel!”

Last week, Sweden said it would ban restaurants and bars from selling alcohol after 10 p.m., starting Nov. 20, while also imposing new restrictions on nursing homes in and around Stockholm. Residents of elder-care facilities made up almost half of the people who had died of the virus by May.

The moves are mild compared with those in other European countries that have gone into lockdown or restricted regional travel, but they mark a departure from Sweden’s initial approach to containing the virus, which was seen as laissez faire compared with the responses of its neighbors. Lofven said that while advice from the spring proved effective, people are now less inclined to follow guidelines. “Now more of a ban is needed to bring down the curve of the number infected,” he said.

Tens of thousands of international students have paused their plans to enroll in U.S. colleges and universities this fall amid the novel coronaviruspandemic, threatening a key source of revenue for higher education, a new survey shows.

The Institute of International Education reported Monday that international enrollment fell 16 percent this fall at more than 700 schools it surveyed. The flow of new international students into U.S. institutions plummeted 43 percent from the previous year.

Nearly 40,000 international students have deferred enrollment, the institute reported, as the pandemic continues to wreak worldwide havoc on plans for travel and education.

Most summers, visitors to Lake Tahoe respect its beauty and its bears. This summer, however was different, resulting in an increase in trash and bear activity, and protests from some of the locals.

Many tourism officials and business owners had feared Tahoe would take a major hit because of the coronavirus pandemic, not to mention the poor air quality from the California wildfires. Instead, the famously blue lake that straddles the state line between California and Nevada saw a boost in visitors.

But the vacationers who arrived in droves were not Tahoe’s typical tourists, observers say. Some seemed unfamiliar with wilderness protocols, which include packing out trash, protecting pristine natural elements such as trees and boulders, and not feeding the bears.

California has to slam the “emergency brake” on reopening, Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday, making it the latest state to reestablish restrictions as it experiences its sharpest increase in coronavirus infections yet.

The state’s daily case count doubled in the past week, a rise that is “without precedent,” Newsom (D) said during a news briefing Monday, as California tallied 9,890 new cases.

To slow the surge of infections, Newsom said 41 of the state’s 58 counties — including Orange, Santa Clara and Santa Barbara counties — will be on the most restrictive “purple” level, which requires many nonessential indoor businesses to close. Purple counties are ones reporting more than seven cases per day per 100,000 people and where the positivity rate for testing is above 8 percent. Last week, 13 counties were in that category.

Restaurants, gyms and places of worship in these hot spots must be outdoors-only, and bars must close, according to state guidelines. Nonessential offices are required to work remotely.

Because outbreaks have spiraled in recent weeks, Newsom announced that the state will move counties multiple tiers as needed and reassess more often, instead of only on Tuesdays.

“The bottom line is we’re moving from a marathon to a sprint,” he said.

Newsom added that he was considering a statewide curfew but said he was still reviewing research to see how effective it would be.

The closures come as states across the country have ramped up restrictions to try to tackle mounting infections and hospitalizations ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday. Governors in New Mexico, Oregon and Washington announced Friday the shutdown of indoor dining and other services. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) made a similar pronouncement Sunday, saying that a second stay-home order may follow if the state is unable to curb infections.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) on Monday also announced additional coronavirus measures, which require tables in dining areas to be six feet apart, restaurants and bars to close by 11 p.m. and that its approximately 33,000 state employees wear masks.

As President-elect Joe Biden took the stage Monday for his first big address on U.S. economy, coronavirus cases were hitting all-time highs, numerous states and cities were issuing fresh stay-at-home orders, and Americans were noticeably pulling back on spending again.

Biden made it clear his first priority is getting the virus under control. He walked out on stage wearing a mask, and proclaimed, “There’s nothing macho about not wearing a mask.” He urged unity -- and common sense, saying his own family would limit Thanksgiving celebrations to no more than 10 people.

But in this moment of rising unease, it was noticeable what Biden did not say in his speech. He did not extend any sort of olive branch to Senate Republicans to re-start bipartisan negotiations on a stimulus bill, and he danced around the question of whether the nation needs another wide-scale closure of businesses and schools.

Iowa has become the latest state to implement a mask mandate after Gov. Kim Reynolds resisted calls to order one amid a surging coronavirus outbreak.

Iowans age 2 or older must wear a mask starting Tuesday in indoor public spaces and if they are within six feet of people who are not members of their households, Reynolds (R) announced Monday night in a recorded video message. The order also limits indoor and outdoor gatherings to 15 and 30 attendees, respectively, requires restaurants and bars to close at 10 p.m. and encourages those who are high-risk to stay home.

“This isn’t about mandates, this isn’t about government,” Reynolds said. “There isn’t enough law enforcement in the country to make sure Iowans wear a mask when they should. … If Iowans don’t buy into this, we lose.”

Reynolds has previously belittled mask mandates, calling them “feel-good” actions, and argued that her approach that supported individual freedoms earned President Trump the state in the election. She later ordered a limited requirement last week for face coverings for indoor gatherings with more than 25 people and outdoor gatherings with more than 100 people.

“I think the goal is to do what we can to reduce the spread of the virus,” Reynolds said in September, according to the Associated Press. “I believe that is the end goal and that we can get there without a mask mandate. I believe that and that’s what I’m going to consistently do.”

But on Monday, she said the state’s health-care system has been “pushed to the brink.” Iowa’s total number of reported infections doubled in the past month, and on Monday, the number of patients in the state currently hospitalized with covid-19 reached a high of 1,392.

Reynolds said she was postponing her Thanksgiving celebration and not hosting her children and grandchildren because of the pandemic.

“Now is the time to come together for the greater good,” she said.

In Bismarck, N.D., where Leslie McKamey is a nurse in the emergency department at CHI St. Alexius Health, caregivers have been so overwhelmed by covid-19 patients in the past few weeks that ambulances are sometimes diverted to the other major hospital in town.

Until that hospital, Sanford Medical Center, fills up as well. Then, there is no choice but to treat the flood of sick people who have made the state the worst coronavirus hot spot in this unprecedented surge of the pandemic.

“Our nurses are working longer shifts, a majority are picking up extra shifts, and we’re still short-staffed,” McKamey said, attributing the crisis in part to a hospital policy of reducing personnel in recent years. “We are taking on more patients than what we can really handle and what our patients deserve.”

As the virus stampedes across the country, setting previously unimaginable infection records nearly every day of its third major surge, some hospitals are desperately searching for staffers and paying dearly for it.

More than 1 million children in the United States have fallen ill with the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association announced Monday.

In total, nearly 1.04 million kids under 18 have tested positive, which likely does not account for all cases as children are less likely to show symptoms or get tested, according to the associations for pediatricians. Almost 112,000 cases among children were reported during the week of Nov. 12, the largest increase since the start of the pandemic.

While children tend to experience mild infections, few face more severe cases: Kids accounted for more than 1 to 3 percent of the total reported hospitalizations and less than one-quarter of 1 percent of deaths.

“At this time, it appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is rare among children,” the groups said in a joint release of data. “However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”

The organizations pointed to the known psychological effects of natural disasters on children, adding that the disruption inflicted by the pandemic is likely to continue long term, wreaking “toxic stress” on young Americans.

AAP President Sally Goza called the data “staggering and tragic” in a statement, urging elected leaders to consider a national strategy that includes “proven public health measures like mask wearing and physical distancing” to address the rampant virus threatening families and straining health-care systems.

The count comes as some of the largest public school systems, such as New York City’s, consider going online amid a rising positivity rate and outbreaks.

During the late summer and early fall, President Trump pushed for schools to open in person, asserting that “virtually” no children catch the virus.