{"id":10216,"date":"2020-06-20T18:52:26","date_gmt":"2020-06-21T01:52:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=10216"},"modified":"2020-06-20T18:52:26","modified_gmt":"2020-06-21T01:52:26","slug":"pandemic-danger-is-at-a-new-high-the-w-h-o-warns-the-new-york-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=10216","title":{"rendered":"“Pandemic Danger Is at a New High, the W.H.O. Warns”, The New York Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Julie Bosman, cover story print edition, June 20, 2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Beijing and Seoul have had a recent surge in coronavirus cases, and businesses are recoiling in America as infections sharply increase in Southern and Western states.<\/em><\/p>\n

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CHICAGO \u2014 The world has entered a \u201cnew and dangerous phase\u201d of the coronavirus pandemic, a top official from the World Health Organization said on Friday, a stark warning that came as the United States struggled to control spiraling outbreaks and as business leaders signaled growing unease with the country\u2019s ability to effectively contend with the virus.<\/p>\n

Coronavirus cases spiked sharply across the American South and West, particularly in states that loosened restrictions on businesses several weeks ago.<\/p>\n

In Florida, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Arizona, daily counts of new coronavirus cases reached their highest levels of the pandemic this week. Texas, which has seen known cases double in the past month, became the sixth state to surpass 100,000 cases, according to a New York Times database of cases in the United States<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Around the country, there were indications that major companies and sports teams were changing their own plans as the new surges emerged.<\/p>\n

Apple said it was temporarily closing 11 retail stores across four states amid an uptick in cases. AMC Entertainment reversed course on its mask policy<\/a> on Friday, saying it will now require patrons to wear face coverings when movie theaters reopen next month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Two Major League Baseball clubs, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Toronto Blue Jays, and a professional hockey team, the Tampa Bay Lightning, abruptly shut down training facilities in Florida over concerns that the virus was threatening players\u2019 safety.<\/p>\n

Across the globe, the outlook for containing the coronavirus worsened. A pandemic that had been defined early on by a series of shifting epicenters \u2014 including Wuhan, China; Iran; northern Italy; Spain; and New York \u2014 was now distinguished by a wide and expanding scope. Eighty-one nations have seen a growth in new cases<\/a> over the past two weeks. Only 36 have seen declines.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people are understandably fed up with being at home,\u201d Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the W.H.O., said in a news conference in which he described the new phase of the virus. \u201cCountries are understandably eager to open up their societies and their economies. But the virus is still spreading fast. It is still deadly and most people are still susceptible.\u201d<\/p>\n

A sobering lesson in the virus\u2019s tenacity came in China, where officials had recently proclaimed that they had vanquished the virus \u2014 only to see it surge back in Beijing, the capital. That metropolis, of 21 million people, is facing new restrictions on travel and renewed school closures. Seoul, South Korea, also reported a new surge in cases on Friday.<\/p>\n

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For weeks, the United States has been slowly but determinedly returning to its pre-pandemic existence amid economic turmoil. Businesses reopened, summer camps started and retail workers returned to stores.<\/p>\n

But efforts to boost the economy by bringing more people back to work may be happening too soon, experts said, warning that the economic outlook in the United States remains wildly uncertain.<\/p>\n

Eric Rosengren, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and an influential policy maker within the central bank system, cited rising caseloads in South Carolina and Florida as he cautioned of the economic impact of states reopening before the virus was under control. The tension between a tumbling economy and a global pandemic remained stark.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect the economic rebound in the second half of the year to be less than was hoped for at the outset of the pandemic,\u201d Mr. Rosengren said, citing the virus\u2019s continuing spread and the acceleration of new cases in many states.<\/p>\n

Around the world, risks are multiplying as nations reopen their economies.<\/p>\n

In India, which placed all 1.3 billion of its citizens under a lockdown \u2014 then moved to reopen<\/a> even with its strained public health system near the breaking point \u2014 officials reported a record number of new cases this week. And the virus is now spreading rapidly in Pakistan and Bangladesh.<\/p>\n

Some countries where caseloads had appeared to taper \u2014 including Israel, Sweden and Costa Rica \u2014 are now watching them rise.<\/p>\n

Cases have continued to surge across much of the United States, with new single-day infection records reported in nine states. More widespread testing is no doubt playing some role in the increase in the number of known cases. But growing hospitalizations and rising rates of positive tests compared with total tests in many of those states make clear that the virus is raging uncontrolled across much of the Sun Belt.<\/p>\n

In Arizona and Texas, more people with the coronavirus are hospitalized now than at any previous point in the pandemic. In Utah, the percent of positive tests compared with total tests reached the highest levels yet this month. In Nevada, the percent of positive tests recently began increasing again after more than a month of sustained declines.<\/p>\n

Dr. Jeff Duchin, the health officer for Seattle and King County, Wash., said in a statement on Friday that the area had seen a spike in cases in the last week, as it proceeded to loosen restrictions. \u201cAs we move into Phase 2 and for the foreseeable future, our risk will be increasing, not decreasing,\u201d Dr. Duchin said. \u201cCovid-19 has not gone away and we must take the ongoing risk very seriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Movie theaters, shuttered for months because of the coronavirus, have struggled to find a balance between making money and ensuring public safety in the midst of a pandemic. Some companies have followed the guidance of scientists and required patrons to wear masks or face coverings for entry, but they have encountered resistance from customers who see mask-wearing as an infringement of personal liberty.<\/p>\n

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a company with 41 theaters in 10 states, said on Friday that it would require face masks in its theaters \u201cexcept when eating or drinking,\u201d saying the safety of patrons and workers could not be compromised. \u201cThis is not political,\u201d the theater chain said in a tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Regal Cinemas joined AMC and Alamo on Friday afternoon in stating that all movie theater employees and patrons would be required to wear masks. The chain, which had previously said it would require masks only in cities that mandated them, said that disposable masks would be made available to customers who needed them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n