By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House on Thursday rallied around the message that all was well both in the battle against coronavirus and in efforts to get the U.S. economy moving again despite several days of record spikes in new cases.
Florida reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases on Thursday, the biggest one-day increase in the state since the pandemic started, according to a Reuters tally.
The number of cases nationwide shot up by nearly 50,000 the day before, the fourth record rise in infections in the last seven days, following moves in many states to allow businesses to reopen from strict shutdowns aimed at containing the pandemic.
On Thursday, Trump celebrated a report showing the economy created jobs at a record clip in June as more restaurants, bars and retail businesses resumed operations.
“Today’s announcement proves that our economy is roaring back,” Trump told reporters at the White House, while also touting his administration’s efforts to beat back the virus as “a historic thing.”
The United States has reported more than 128,000 coronavirus-related deaths, nearly a quarter of the global total.
Governors of U.S. states hit hardest by record waves of new infections have in recent days halted or reversed those moves to re-open, led by California, the nation’s most populous state.
The impact of these reversals did not show up in the employment data showing a gain of 4.8 million jobs as the government surveyed businesses in the middle of the month.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said it was appropriate that some states are “pausing certain things” due to the rise in COVID-19 cases.
Asked if the White House regretted encouraging states to reopen quickly, and if the move had backfired, Mnuchin was resolute.
“Absolutely not… There is a safe way to reopen the economy and we are going to do that carefully.”
Several states have reported record increases in new cases in the past week, including Arizona, Alaska, Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas.
Parts of Texas and Arizona are running out of available intensive care hospital beds, officials have said.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Wednesday closed bars, banned indoor dining and imposed other restrictions in 19 counties, affecting over 70% of the state’s population.
California was the first U.S. state to impose sweeping “stay-at-home” restrictions in March.
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said he and Trump supported governors who are pausing their re-openings, but saw no need for a national mandate for people to wear masks, which public health officials see as the easiest way to significantly decrease virus transmission.
“I don’t think there’s a need for a national mandate,” Pence said in an interview with CNBC.
Pence also said he believed schools could reopen on time in the fall and that the United States would keep opening up. He was due to visit Florida later on Thursday.
Conservatives have generally been less willing to wear masks or follow other restrictions imposed by local authorities to stop the spread of the virus as the issue has become increasingly politicized.
Many states have gone ahead with their own orders, however. On Thursday, Kansas became the latest state to mandate wearing masks in public spaces, and where people are unable to maintain the recommended social distance of six feet (two meters).
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found Americans are increasingly worried about the spread of COVID-19, the serious and sometimes fatal illness caused by the coronavirus.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason, Steve Holland, Alexandra Aleper, Lisa Lambert, Timothy Ahmann, Lisa Shumaker; Writing by Sonya Hepinstall; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
