Even as Texas set three new daily death records this week, the state Republican Party sued Houston’s Democratic mayor for ordering the cancellation of its convention next week. Mayor Sylvester Turner barred the in-person gathering -- expected to draw 6,000 people -- for fear it would contribute to the spread of the virus.
Leaders Stricken
Government officials in several states have reported catching Covid-19 recently. California’s legislature delayed a session that was supposed to start July 13, after Assemblywoman Autumn Burke said she had tested positive.
In a series of tweets Monday, Burke said the Assembly’s human resources department called her to warn that she may have received “mask to mask” exposure to an infected person. And in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed said Thursday she tested negative for Covid-19 after attending an event with someone who had contracted the virus, but would take another test next week as a precaution.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, a Democrat, tweeted Wednesday that it took eight days to get test results for her and others in her household. One member of the household tested positive, but during the wait, the virus spread to others. “If we had known sooner, we would have immediately quarantined,” she wrote.
In Mississippi, where the state legislators tested positive, 10 staff members have also contracted Covid-19.
“It’s a real, live reminder that this virus will not stop, with anyone,” Governor Tate Reeves said at a news conference.
In Kentucky, which is seeing 200 to 400 new cases a day, Governor Andy Beshear said he would order mask-wearing statewide starting 5 p.m. Friday. The rule applies indoors and outdoors, to customers in retail stores and in restaurants until a person begins eating. Initial violations will come with a warning, but fines will follow, Beshear said.
“I hoped we wouldn’t have to get to a point where we needed to mandate things,” Beshear said. “It’s time to get serious. It’s time to push our numbers down now.”
--With assistance from Brenna Goth, Renata S. Geraldo, Susan Warren, David R. Baker, Rachel Adams-Heard and Alexander Ebert.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.