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VOA - World News

The coronavirus is spreading too fast and across too many places in the United States to bring it under control, a top expert says as some states set records for new cases every day. 

“We have way too much virus across the country for that right now, so it’s very discouraging,” Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. 

State officials have also halted alcohol consumption at bars because of what DeSantis calls "widespread noncompliance."       

The governors of Texas and California have also closed many bars. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said, "COVID-19 has taken a very swift and very dangerous turn in Texas over just the past few weeks." The disease is caused by the coronavirus.

A patient returns his testing sample at a self-collection COVID-19 testing site, Monday, June 29, 2020, in Houston. COVID-19 cases continue to surge across Texas.

The city of Jacksonville, Florida, where the Republican Party will hold its convention in August, said Monday it will require masks for all public locations. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that indoor dining will not resume as planned this week because of the threat of the virus. 

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom closed bars in seven counties that had reopened and urged those in eight others to follow suit.     

Elsewhere, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has suspended the fourth phase of his state’s reopening plans. The northwestern U.S. state reported 3,180 new cases in the last week, a figure approaching what the state saw during the height of the outbreak in March.     

In an interview with The Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Schuchat calls the surge in new cases just “the beginning.” 

“I think there was a lot of wishful thinking around the country that, hey it’s summer. Everything’s going to be fine. We’re over this and we are not even beginning to be over this. There are a lot of worrisome factors about the last week or so.” 

She says new cases are not being rapidly identified and isolated and all the contacts traced and quarantined. 

Dr. Schuchat said no one can count ion the summer heat to affect the virus. She appealed to people to wear masks, practice social distancing and not to expect any kind of relief until there’s a vaccine.

President Donald Trump, with members of the president's coronavirus task force, listens as Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC at the White House, Feb. 26, 2020

She says COVID-19 is “stealthier than we were expecting.” 

The Trump administration has said only 4% of U.S. counties has seen jump in new coronavirus cases.  

It sounds like a relatively small number. But according to the Associated Press, more than 20% of the U.S. population lives in those counties.  

Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas are among the states which have seen the biggest spike in new cases. 

The United States is expected to be on European Union’s list of countries whose citizens are barred from traveling there because of COVID-19. 

Along with the U.S., diplomats say Brazil, Inia, and Russia are also expected to be on the list because of the high number of cases. 

“This is not an exercise to be nice or unfriendly to other countries, this is an exercise of self-responsibility,” Spain’s foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya tells Spanish radio.  

EU diplomats say the list will be revised every 14 days. 

President Donald Trump suspended most European travelers from entering the U.S. in March.  

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the worst of the coronavirus outbreak is over in Canada but urges citizens to stay alert. 

“After a very challenging spring things are continuing to move in the right direction,” Trudeau said Monday. “What the situation we’re seeing in the United States and elsewhere highlights for us is that even as our economy is reopening, we need to make sure we are continuing to remain vigilant.”  

Non-essential border crossings between the U.S. and Canada are set to expire on July 21. But it is unclear how Canada will react of the surge in cases in the U.S. continues. 

Canadian-based Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group filed for bankruptcy protection Monday after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to cancel shows and lay off about 95% of its performers and staff.  

In the U.S., Broadway will remain dark for the rest of the year.  

Theaters have been closed since March, temporarily closing 31 plays and musicals, and putting as many as 100,000 actors, musicians, dancers, stagehands, and other heater professionals out of work.  

Officials say they don’t expect the lights on The Great White Way to be switched on again until January 2, 2021.