Georgia strikes down local mask mandates as U.S. approaches 3.5 million coronavirus cases

[spanone]

PLEASE NOTE

The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free. For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter where all stories are free to read.

With the total number of reported U.S. coronavirus infections rapidly approaching 3.5 million, Walmart, Kroger, Kohl’s, Alabama, Montana and the city of Tulsa came out in favor of mandatory face coverings Wednesday, suggesting that science was beginning to prevail over partisan debate.

But Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) issued a Wednesday-night order nullifying all local mask mandates — including one in Atlanta — and a Utah county commission meeting was canceled after anti-mask protesters caused it to devolve into chaos.

As the heated debate over mask-wearing continued, nearly 66,000 new cases were reported nationwide Wednesday. The seven-day average of new U.S. infections has trended upward for 37 consecutive days, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. And hospital capacity in some hard-hit states is running low as officials scramble to keep their expanding outbreaks from spinning even further out of control.

Here are some significant developments:
After several days of headlines about the White House’s attempts to discredit him, Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, said in a Wednesday interview that it was time to “stop this nonsense” and focus on the virus “rather than these games people are playing.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/07/16/coronavirus-live-updates-us/

[beachbumbob]

1. title should be GOP Gov Kemp strikes down, not Georgia