A California county takes unusual step to slow coronavirus spread; state braces for jump in cases
LOS ANGELES - Concerned about the rise of coronavirus cases, Riverside County has taken the unprecedented step of ordering all residents to cover their faces when leaving home, marking a dramatic escalation by county officials in their attempts to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
Despite previous pleas from county officials for residents to socially distance, cover their faces and stay home, "more and more" residents were getting infected with the virus, and "not everyone's getting the message," Dr. Cameron Kaiser, the county's public health officer, said Saturday in issuing the order.
"We change from saying that you should to saying that you must," Kaiser said in a prepared statement published by the county. As of Saturday, Riverside County has reported 665 confirmed cases of the coronavirus infection, while 18 people have died from COVID-19, officials said.
Los Angeles and the Bay Area had previously urged residents to cover their mouths and noses, and San Diego
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