The Wider World

N.J., N.Y demanding quarantines

YOU CAN’T VISIT New York City (or state) if you’re coming from 16 other states unless youquaratine for 14 days (Shutterstock/Gagliardi Photography).

California has some company in being snubbed by the states of New York and New Jersey. The original epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S., those states have now issued orders for travelers from 16 states to be quarantined for 14 days.

According to United Press International, Delaware, Kansas and Oklahoma were added to the list of states that were experiencing rising rates of the infection.

“New Yorkers did the impossible,” said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “We went to from the worst infection rate in the United States to one of the best, and the last thing we want to see is another spike of COVID-19.”

In addition to the most recent additions, the list now includes Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Utah.

Report shows increase in new hiring

The re-opening of many states is being credited with 6.5 million new hires in May. A new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics noted also that was an increase of 2.4 million over the previous month.

Additionally, the number of separations – layoffs, resignations, etc. – fell from 5.8 million to 4.1 million. The biggest single change was in the category of accommodation (hotels and motels) and food service, where 196,000 jobs were added or restored. Next was retail trade where the employment increase was at 147,000.

However, this report doesn’t not reflect the effect of a recent increase in COVID-19 infections where several states cancelled or suspended their “re-openings,” leading to closures in eateries, bars and other businesses.

U.S. coronavirus cases near landmark

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States is approaching 3 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.

THE VIRUS (Shutterstock).

Tuesday’s data puts the worldwide tally at 11,711,426 cases. The U.S. has 2,966,409 cases, followed by Brazil with 1,623,284 and India with 719,664.

Global deaths are now at 540,157, led by the U.S. with 130,902, and then Brazil with 65,487 and the United Kingdom/Great Britain with 65,487.

Also in the news …

The United States on Tuesday gave formal notice Tuesday of its intention to withdraw from the World Health Organization effective in 2021. The U.S is a major contributor to WHO. • Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is infected with the coronavirus. He has been a critic of social distancing policies. Brazil has the second-worst infection rate in the world, after the United States. • A new book by President Donald Trump’s niece says her uncle’s personality was shaped by his father’s domineering personality and questionable business practices.

Bears beat the bulls on Wall Street

N.Y. STOCK EXCHANGE (Flickr/Modesto Del Rio).

Continuing bad news on the fight against the coronavirus pandemic helped drive stock prices down on Tuesday. All three major indexes took big drops as more states announce plans to re-instate restrictions on businesses as new infections rose in states that had “re-opened.”

The Dow Jones Average fell by 396.85 points to 25,890.18, a decline of 1.51 percent. The S&P 500 declined by 34.40 to 3,145.32, down 1.08 percent.

Nasdaq dropped by 89.76 points to 10,343.89, a reduction of 0.86 percent.

Sunny and warmer is the outlook

Sunny skies Tuesday afternoon with a high near 82 in the West Orange County area.  That will turn into patchy fog after 11 p.m. according to the National Weather Service. There will be overall cloudiness with a low of 63. On Wednesday, patchy morning fog will give way to some clearing with a high near 80. The night will look a lot like Tuesday night. There will be a warming trend later in the week with Saturday’s thermostat rising to 92. Look for slight cooling through Sunday and Monday.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Leave a Reply