MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- With coronavirus cases continuing to surge around the country, two of Arkansas' fellow Southern states are reinstituting mask mandates to combat it, while also working to control damage to their economies.
On Thursday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said she was extending a public health order requiring masks in public but lifting occupancy limits on stores and other places.
In Louisiana, even as his coronavirus restrictions are being challenged in court, Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards announced Thursday that he's extending the statewide mask mandate, business limitations and other rules he enacted to combat covid-19 for another four weeks.
The United States recorded Wednesday more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day for the first time since the pandemic began, and the wave of infections shows no sign of receding.
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Ivey said during a Capitol news conference Thursday that the mask mandate and new order will last through Dec. 11. The Republican governor said she was trying to balance health concerns -- as the state faces an uptick in cases -- with economic ones such as alleviating some of the financial damage to retailers and restaurants.
She said extending the mask order is needed to keep people safe and allow some aspects of life to go on more normally.
"I understand folks are bone dead tired of the mask. I'm tired of it, too, but asking for the mask mandate is just a minimal ask to keep us safe so our business can stay open, and people that are employed can keep working," Ivey said.
The coronavirus restrictions in Louisiana were set to expire today, but Edwards said he's renewing them through Dec. 4.
"We think we've got the balance of things about right," Edwards said. He added: "The science is very, very clear, and our experience in Louisiana now is extremely clear. These measures work."
Louisiana isn't seeing the latest spikes in covid-19 happening across the country, but the state reports hundreds of new confirmed cases daily.
"The second that we lose vigilance we're going to see ourselves, unfortunately, where a number of other states are right now," said Dr. Joe Kanter, the governor's chief public health adviser.
Republican lawmakers say the statewide rules are too strict eight months after Louisiana saw its first outbreak of the covid-19 disease caused by the coronavirus.
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Alabama's death toll from the coronavirus pandemic topped 3,000 this week as cases of covid-19 and hospitalizations continued rising. Since the pandemic began, more than 200,000 Alabamians have tested positive.
Health officials have credited the mask order with a drop in daily case numbers since it was first announced, but have also expressed concern about state numbers beginning to creep upward.
"More than 3,000 Alabamians have died from this deadly virus. While obviously some folks are more susceptible to covid-19 because of age and preexisting conditions, no one is immune, as we are all capable of contracting this virus," Ivey said.
As before, anyone over the age of 6 will be required to wear masks in indoor public spaces and outdoors when it's impossible to stay away from others. But occupancy limits are ending for retailers headed into the holiday shopping season, entertainment spots and fitness centers.
"Simply put, this should be welcome news as we get ready for the upcoming holiday season," Ivey said of the lifted occupancy limits. "From the outset of this pandemic, I said you cannot have a life without a livelihood," Ivey said.
Dr. Don Williamson, president of the Alabama Hospital Association who is also Alabama's former state health officer, praised the decision to extend the mask order.
"I think we are entering a very, very dangerous part of the pandemic," Williamson said. "Hospitalizations are going up and cases are going up."
While the virus causes only mild to moderate symptoms for most people, it is particularly dangerous for the elderly and people with other, serious health problems.
D.C. REVISES RULES
Meanwhile, with virus numbers rising locally and nationally, and the holiday travel season looming, the nation's capital is revamping its covid-19 travel restrictions.
Starting next week, visitors going to Washington, D.C., from a state classified as high risk will be required to take covid-19 tests and receive negative results within 72 hours before traveling. They will also be asked to take another test locally if they plan to stay in Washington for more than three days.
The new system replaces the one in place since July, which required visitors from hot-spot states to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser, a Democrat, acknowledged Thursday that the quarantine system, which was entirely voluntary, was probably being violated by many visitors.
"We continue to ask people to limit their travel and stay home," Bowser said. "We also know that people are going to come here, and they're more than likely not going to quarantine for 14 days if they do."
It also was unrealistic that travelers would abide by the quarantine rules, particularly as Washington's hot-spot list has grown to encompass 42 states. There also was no way to enforce it.
Under the new restrictions, private institutions such as hotels, universities, employers and houses of worship are permitted to demand proof of negative covid-19 tests before allowing people to enter, but Bowser said the government won't be involved in such enforcement.
"Nobody is going to be asking you at the airport, or on bridges or roads or at the train station, to show your papers," Bowser said.
Visitors from neighboring Maryland and Virginia are exempt, as well as those staying in D.C. less than 24 hours and those traveling on essential business.
Washington, Maryland and Virginia have all witnessed rising infection rates in recent weeks, with Maryland and Virginia experiencing the biggest spikes.
NO SIGN OF RECEDING
The total count of new infections in the U.S. was at least 107,000 Wednesday, according to a New York Times database.
Twenty-three states have recorded more cases in the past week than in any other seven-day stretch.
Five states -- Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Minnesota and Nebraska -- set single-day case records Wednesday. Cases were also mounting in the Mountain West and even in the Northeast, which over the summer seemed to be getting the virus under control.
North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin have led the country for weeks in the number of new cases relative to their populations. But other states have seen steep recent increases in the past 14 days.
Deaths related to the coronavirus, which lag behind case reports, have increased 21% across the country in the past two weeks.
Hospitals in some areas are feeling the strain of surging caseloads. More than 50,000 people are currently hospitalized with covid-19 across the country, according to the Covid Tracking Project, an increase of roughly 64% since the beginning of October.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country's top infectious disease expert, predicted in June, when new cases were averaging roughly 42,000 a day, that the rate would eventually reach 100,000 a day if the pandemic were not brought under control.
Fauci said the country "could not possibly be positioned more poorly" as winter approaches and lower temperatures lead people to gather indoors.
When making holiday plans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends considering the state of the virus in a particular area, including the areas where guests may be traveling from and the length of the event.
ELECTION CONNECTION
Separately, U.S. voters went to the polls divided on how they see President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic. But in places where the virus appears to be most rampant now, Trump had enormous support.
An Associated Press analysis reveals that in 376 counties with the highest numbers of new cases per capita, the overwhelming majority -- 93% of those counties -- voted for Trump, a rate above other less severely hit areas.
Taking note of the contrast, state health officials are pausing for a moment of introspection. Even as they worry about rising numbers of hospitalizations and deaths, they hope to reframe their messages and aim for a reset on public sentiment now that the election is over.
"Public health officials need to step back, listen to and understand the people who aren't taking the same stance" on mask-wearing and other control measures, said Dr. Marcus Plescia of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
"I think there's the potential for things to get less charged and divisive," he said, adding that there's a chance a retooled public health message might unify Americans around lowering case counts so hospitals won't get swamped during the winter months.
Trump voters interviewed by AP reporters said they value individual freedom and believed the president was doing as well as anyone could in response to the coronavirus.
Michaela Lane, a 25-year-old Republican, dropped her ballot off last week at a polling site at an outdoor mall in Phoenix. She cast her vote for Trump.
"I feel like the most important issue facing the country as a whole is liberty at large," Lane said. "Infringing on people's freedom, government overrule, government overreach, chaos in a lot of issues currently going on and just giving people back their rights."
As the election mood dissipates, rising hospitalizations as colder weather sets in create "a really pivotal moment" in the pandemic, said Sema Sgaier, executive director of the Surgo Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that worked with Harvard University-affiliated Ariadne Labs to develop a tool for estimating vaccine needs in states.
"We really need to get our act together. When I say 'we' I mean collectively," Sgaier said. Finding common ground may become easier if one or more of the vaccine candidates proves safe and effective and gains government approval, she said.
"The vaccine provides the reset button," Sgaier said.
Information for this article was contributed by Kim Chandler, Melinda Deslatte, Ashraf Khalil, Carla K. Johnson, Hannah Fingerhut, Todd Richmond, Terry Tang and Pia Deshpande of The Associated Press; and by Kate Taylor of The New York Times.
