The federal government warned impatient governors on Friday against relaxing pandemic controls, saying a recent sharp drop in U.S. coronavirus cases and deaths could ‘possibly stop’ and ‘possibly reduce a very high number’ – a worrying development that comes as more cases of new variants have been found and may indicate that the return to normal is not yet as close as many Americans had hoped.
“Things are tame,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at a White House briefing on the pandemic. “This is not the time to relax restrictions.”
Her warning was reinforced by dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the government’s greatest epidemiologist, while the government scrambled in Biden to keep up with any new wave. President Biden himself flew to Houston to display the government’s latest mass vaccination site.
According to a New York Times database, virus cases across the United States appear to be declining from the sharp decline that began in January, with figures comparable to those reported in late October. Cases have increased slightly week-over-week over the past few days, although testing and reporting in severe weather was limited last week in Texas and other states, and not all states reported complete information about the Presidential Day holiday. The seven-day average of new cases as of Thursday was 77,800.
While deaths tend to vary more than cases and hospital admissions, dr. Walensky said during the briefing on Friday that the recent average of seven days is slightly higher than the average earlier in the week. The average of seven days of newly reported deaths as of Thursday was 2,165.
“We at CDC see this as a very worrying shift in the trajectory,” she said, adding, “I want to make it clear: cases, hospital admissions and deaths – everything remains very high and the recent shift in the pandemic must be extremely serious. be recorded. . ”
Dr. Walensky said some of the increase may be due to new variants of the coronavirus that spread more efficiently and faster. The so-called B.1.1.7 variant, which first originated in Britain, is now about 10 percent of all cases in the United States, a few weeks ago one to four percent, she said. The American ability to detect variants is much less strong than that of Britain.
‘I know people are tired; they want to return to life, to normal, ”she said. “But we are not there yet.”
As the number of cases decreased, some governors in the United States began to relax pandemic restrictions. States with Republican governors appear to be more eager to make refunds, although New York, which has a Democrat as governor, has also eased restrictions on a variety of activities.
On Friday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, announced that restaurants would be able to serve alcohol Monday at 11 p.m., and that residents would not need state approval to hold events with 250 people or more. To try to limit the spread of the virus, the state ordered the bar last year to stop alcohol after 11pm, which is three hours earlier than the crowd was accustomed to in the late evening.
Brian Symmes, a spokesman for Mr. McMaster, said the governor “appreciates perspectives that differ from his own” but “respectfully disagrees with Dr. Walensky’s assessment.
In Arkansas, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Friday that he would lift capacity restrictions on bars, restaurants, gyms and large venues, but extend the state’s emergency order and mask mandate until March 31. The current emergency order would expire February 27th.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Thursday that he is considering lifting a statewide mask mandate since July.
In Mississippi, Tate Reeves’ government said it was also considering withdrawing some restrictions, especially the mandate for people who have been fully vaccinated. According to a Times database, 13 percent of the state’s population received at least one shot, and 6.2 percent received two.
Dr. Fauci agrees with dr. Walensky’s warnings that more repayments at the state or local level would be unwise, noting that the case levels remain in a ‘very uncertain position’.
“We do not want to be people who always look at the dark side of things, but you want to be realistic,” he said. “So we need to take a close look at what happens to the numbers next week before you start making the understandable need to relax about certain constraints.”
In Oregon, Gov. Kate Brown extended the state’s emergency order until May 2. The state recorded a sharp decline in daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths this week, but with reference to the new variants, Ms. Brown said: ‘This is not the time to let it keep us waiting. ”
Eileen Sullivan Remy Tumin, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs and Mitch Smith contribution made.