{"id":11136,"date":"2020-11-16T03:49:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:49:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11136"},"modified":"2020-11-16T03:49:24","modified_gmt":"2020-11-16T11:49:24","slug":"covid-michigan-and-washington-state-clamp-down-as-us-cases-pass-11-million-mark-bbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11136","title":{"rendered":"“Covid: Michigan and Washington State clamp down as US cases pass 11 million mark”, BBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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London, 16 November 2020<\/p>\n

Michigan and Washington are the latest US states to bring in strict measures to try and curb the spread of Covid-19<\/em>.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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High schools and colleges are to halt on-site teaching and restaurants are prohibited from offering indoor dining in Michigan from Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Indoor restaurant dining is also banned in Washington State, and gyms, cinemas, theatres and museums will close.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Covid cases have now topped 11 million in the US<\/a>, with hospital admissions at record levels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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On average, more than 1,000 people a day are dying with the virus, and the overall death toll is close to 250,000.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Trump administration struck an optimistic note on Friday, saying it hoped to distribute 20 million doses of an approved vaccine in December, and for each month after that – although vaccines have yet to get official approval.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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But aides to President-elect Joe Biden say the White House’s refusal to facilitate a presidential transition means his team is being excluded from planning around a vaccination campaign that will be a priority for Mr Biden when he takes office in January.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so nothing drops in this change of power we’re going to have on January 20th,” the president-elect’s chief of staff Ron Klain was quoted as saying by the Associated Press news agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Klain said the Biden team would nonetheless start talking to vaccine manufacturers, including Pfizer.<\/p>\n

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President Donald Trump has continued to claim he won the 3 November election, tweeting late on Sunday night: “I WON THE ELECTION!”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Twitter affixed a warning label to the tweet reading: “Official sources called this election differently.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Mr Trump has ruled out putting the nation into lockdown, but many states are introducing their own restrictions as fast rising cases threaten to overwhelm their healthcare systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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How worried are the state governors?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Both Michigan and Washington State have seen Covid cases double in recent weeks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Michigan’s Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the state was “at the precipice” and could soon suffer 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths a week unless action is taken.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As well as suspending in-person teaching and indoor dining, Ms Whitmer also ordered the closure of public entertainment venues for a period of three weeks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The curbs announced in Washington State<\/a> come into effect on Monday evening and will last a month.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Today, Sunday, November 15, 2020, is the most dangerous public health day in the last 100 years of our state’s history,” Governor Jay Inslee said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“A pandemic is raging in our state. Left unchecked, it will assuredly result in grossly overburdened hospitals and morgues; and keep people from obtaining routine but necessary medical treatment for non-Covid conditions.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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What’s the situation elsewhere in the US?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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Oregon and New Mexico brought in tighter restrictions <\/a>on Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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California on Friday became the second state, after Texas, to hit one million Covid cases, prompting local officials to hit pause on reopening efforts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In other developments:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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