Arizona Governor Doug Ducey on Monday reinstated shut down orders for bars, gyms and theatres as his state grapples with a rapidly escalating coronavirus outbreak.
Under the order, those businesses along with water parks and all gatherings of over 50 people will be shut down starting Monday night.
As of Sunday there were over 73,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state and 1,588 deaths, with the state seeing a sharp increase in daily confirmed infections starting in mid June.
In his executive order Ducey cited increasing hospitalisation numbers saying “additional measures need to be taken to ensure quicker containment.”
The U.S. has confirmed more than 2.5 million coronavirus cases across the country, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
There are also at least 125,435 deaths attributed to the new virus, more than in any other country.
The surge in cases is most notable across the southern and western U.S. states, where many of the states had less stringent lockdown measures.
California, the country’s most populous state, which did institute severe coronavirus closures, also saw record cases last week.
Los Angeles County on Monday ordered the closure of all beaches this weekend in effort to clamp down on risky public gatherings during the 4th of July weekend. (dpa/NAN)
