Daily US Times: The governors of New Mexico and Oregon ordered near-lockdowns on Friday in the most aggressive response yet to the latest wave of Covid-19 infections shattering records across the United States, even as many of their counterparts in other states show little appetite for reimposing the hard-line restrictions of last spring.
In imposing a two-week stay-at-home order, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico said: “We are in a life-or-death situation, and if we don’t act right now, we cannot preserve the lives, we can’t keep saving lives, and we will absolutely crush our current health care system and infrastructure.”
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown ordered a two-week “freeze” which will come into effect on Wednesday, under which all businesses will be required to close their offices to the public and mandate work-from-home “to the greatest extent possible.”
While most Oregon stores will remain open, movie theaters, zoos, gyms, museums, pools will be forced to close, and bars and restaurants will be limited to takeout. Social gatherings will be restricted to six people.
The Democratic governor warned that violators could face arrest or fines.
Drown said: “For the last eight months, I have been asking Oregonians to follow to the letter and the spirit of the law, and we have not chosen to engage law enforcement.”
“At this point in time, unfortunately, we have no other option,” he added.
Both the New Mexico and Oregon had lockdowns earlier in the year, but the coronavirus surge is coming back with a vengeance across the country, and the US is facing a long, dark winter. The scourge is blamed for 10.7 million confirmed Covid-19 infections and almost a quarter-million deaths in the United States.
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