Some Californian restaurants on Wednesday shut their doors as new measures to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic threaten to scupper US Independence Day plans, with beaches closed, fireworks displays scrapped and family reunions put on hold.
Confirmed cases across the US have surged to more than 50,000 a day and the death toll has topped 128,000 ahead of a July 4th weekend shaping up to be like none in recent memory.
Indoor restaurants, bars and movie theaters across much of California were ordered to close for at least three weeks, in a major reversal of the state’s reopening process.
Photo: AP
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s order affects 70 percent of the nation’s most populous state, including Los Angeles, where Dodger Stadium is to host COVID-19 testing rather than professional baseball this weekend.
“It’s unfortunate that the city opened up, I think, a little too early,” said Marisol Martinez, waiting in line.
California — with more than 6,000 COVID-19 deaths — was initially praised for its swift pandemic response, but has set new daily case records in the past week after reopening.
Beaches in California as well as Florida, normally packed with sun-seeking vacationers, have been shut down after the coastal states experienced an alarming surge in cases.
Scores of towns and cities across the US have dropped their traditional parades and fireworks displays to avoid bringing together the crowds which spread the virus.
With airline travel considered a risky proposition by many, far fewer families are getting together for the reunions and cookouts that traditionally mark the holiday.
However, not everything has been canceled. US President Donald Trump, who is facing a tough re-election battle in November and is eager to portray a semblance of normalcy, plans to travel to South Dakota today for a fireworks display at the Mount Rushmore monument to four of his predecessors.
The White House said Trump is to also host a “Salute to America” event in Washington on Saturday featuring “music, military demonstrations and flyovers,” and a “spectacular fireworks display over the National Mall.”
Military flyovers would also be held in the skies of Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, the Pentagon said.
Former US vice president and democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden accused the White House of seeking to “wish this pandemic away.”
“The situation is getting worse and that is because throughout this pandemic, the current administration has failed to listen to the experts and put forth a cohesive, national strategy to get COVID-19 under control,” Biden’s communications director Kate Bedingfield said.
THE ‘MONSTER’: The Philippines on Saturday sent a vessel to confront a 12,000-tonne Chinese ship that had entered its exclusive economic zone The Philippines yesterday said it deployed a coast guard ship to challenge Chinese patrol boats attempting to “alter the existing status quo” of the disputed South China Sea. Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said Chinese patrol ships had this year come as close as 60 nautical miles (111km) west of the main Philippine island of Luzon. “Their goal is to normalize such deployments, and if these actions go unnoticed and unchallenged, it will enable them to alter the existing status quo,” he said in a statement. He later told reporters that Manila had deployed a coast guard ship to the area
RISING TENSIONS: The nations’ three leaders discussed China’s ‘dangerous and unlawful behavior in the South China Sea,’ and agreed on the importance of continued coordination Japan, the Philippines and the US vowed to further deepen cooperation under a trilateral arrangement in the face of rising tensions in Asia’s waters, the three nations said following a call among their leaders. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and outgoing US President Joe Biden met via videoconference on Monday morning. Marcos’ communications office said the leaders “agreed to enhance and deepen economic, maritime and technology cooperation.” The call followed a first-of-its-kind summit meeting of Marcos, Biden and then-Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida in Washington in April last year that led to a vow to uphold international
US president-elect Donald Trump is not typically known for his calm or reserve, but in a craftsman’s workshop in rural China he sits in divine contemplation. Cross-legged with his eyes half-closed in a pose evoking the Buddha, this porcelain version of the divisive US leader-in-waiting is the work of designer and sculptor Hong Jinshi (洪金世). The Zen-like figures — which Hong sells for between 999 and 20,000 yuan (US$136 to US$2,728) depending on their size — first went viral in 2021 on the e-commerce platform Taobao, attracting national headlines. Ahead of the real-estate magnate’s inauguration for a second term on Monday next week,
DIALOGUE: US president-elect Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform confirmed that he had spoken with Xi, saying ‘the call was a very good one’ for the US and China US president-elect Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) discussed Taiwan, trade, fentanyl and TikTok in a phone call on Friday, just days before Trump heads back to the White House with vows to impose tariffs and other measures on the US’ biggest rival. Despite that, Xi congratulated Trump on his second term and pushed for improved ties, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The call came the same day that the US Supreme Court backed a law banning TikTok unless it is sold by its China-based parent company. “We both attach great importance to interaction, hope for
RSS