As the United States heads into the Fourth of July holiday amid the worst surge of coronavirus infections the country has seen since the pandemic began, restrictions have tightened in most states as reopening plans are scaled back.
The US set another record on Friday with 52,300 newly reported cases, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
While North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Alaska all saw new daily highs.
Rising hospital admissions are forcing states to manage resources within increasingly busy intensive care units (ICU) to ensure there are sufficient numbers of beds and enough equipment available.
Arizona, which has become a coronavirus hotspot, reached new highs for hospital admissions and emergency room visits.
State health officials say the occupancy rate of hospital intensive care units is at an all-time high of 91 per cent.
The number of people in hospital on Thursday due to suspected or confirmed cases of Covid-19 was 3,013, according to the Arizona Department of Health Services. It is the first time that hospitals in the state have had to contend with more than 3,000 virus patients.
The number of people who sought emergency hospital treatment because of Covid-19 symptoms reached a record 1,847, nearly 500 more than a day earlier.
The state on Friday reported 4,433 confirmed cases and 31 deaths.
Beaches across Florida and California have closed ahead of the holiday weekend, with testing showing a rising Covid-19 infection rate.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has rolled back some of the plans to reopen businesses in Los Angeles and 18 other counties encompassing nearly three-quarters of the state’s population.
Recently reopened bars, indoor restaurant dining and other indoor entertainment venues were ordered closed back down for at least three weeks. Traditional fireworks shows were cancelled ahead of the weekend's festivities to avoid drawing crowds.
Meanwhile in Florida, which on Thursday set a new daily record for infections, 9,488 new cases were reported as well as 67 deaths.
The state’s tally of hospital admissions rose again on Friday, with 341 new admissions, one of the biggest daily increases since the outbreak began.
Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez cited staffing shortages at hospitals in announcing a new curfew beginning on Friday.
Florida's most populous county imposed a curfew ahead of the Independence Day weekend
Across the state, about 20 per cent of ICU beds are currently available, though some hospitals have additional capacity that can be turned into ICU units.
Ten Democratic politicians urged Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Friday to require Floridians to wear masks. They want the governor to make masks mandatory in public spaces, indoors and outdoors, when social distancing isn’t possible. The Republican governor has resisted those calls.
“This is not a partisan issue; this is an issue of life and death,” the politicians said in a letter to Mr DeSantis.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump will begin his Independence Day weekend on Friday with a patriotic display of fireworks at Mount Rushmore, an event expected to draw thousands but where mask-wearing and social-distancing are not required.
Mr Trump is expected to speak at the event, for which 7,500 tickets have been issued so people can watch fireworks that he says will be a “display like few people have seen.”
The president is seeking a show of support after the poorly-attended rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The state's Republican Party has begun selling T-shirts that feature Mr Trump on the memorial alongside George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.
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People wait to receive food outside a community centre amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, at Fuerte Apache neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA -
A teacher and students wear hats designed to maintain social distancing at Ban Pa Muad School in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. AP Photo -
Visitors carrying parasols pose for photos at the 17th century Wat Chaiwatthanaram temple complex in the ancient Thai capital of Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok, as authorities reopened sites after a lockdown to halt the spread of the Covid-19. AFP -
Physician Carolina Xavier, left, a member of the indigenous medical care unit of the Sao Mata Verde Bonita tribe, speaks with patients in Marica, Rio de Janeiro state. AFP -
A man lights lamps before offering prayers for the protection against Covid19 at Badshah no Hajiro or King's Mausoleum in Ahmedabad, India. AP Photo -
Workers with Accredited Social Health Activist (Asha) from India's National Rural Health Mission wearing pink robes and protective masks as they conduct a door-to-door survey on the coronavirus in New Delhi. Bloomberg -
Gravedigger Martin Niano pushes his cycle past wreaths adorning recent graves in a section of the Municipal Cemetery of Valle de Chalco on the outskirts of Mexico City. AP Photo -
People wear masks in the capital Seoul as South Korea experiences a surge in the number of coronavirus infections, particularly in the southern city of Gwangju. EPA -
People slackline on the Santa Monica beach in Los Angeles County, California where beaches and piers will be closed during the Fourth of July weekend to slow the spread of the coronavirus. AFP -
Indigenous Guarani women and children listen to music being played at the Sao Mata Verde Bonita tribe camp, in Guarani indigenous land, in Marica, Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. AFP -
A worker wearing protective suits sprays disinfectant inside a Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The TTC carried about 1.7 million passengers per day prior to the coronavirus pandemic but ridership has sunk by about 80% as people avoid public transportation and work from home. Bloomberg -
Residents wait for their turn during an aid package distribution by the Indonesian Air Force at a slum area in Jakarta, Indonesia. EPA -
Children wearing protective face masks look at an Indonesian Air Force disinfection drone in a slum area of Jakarta. EPA -
South Korean imperial guards wear face masks as they patrol near the Deoksu Palace in Seoul. AP Photo -
Medical staff prepare to transfer a patient to another room in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Centre in Houston, Texas. AFP -
A passenger collects her baggage at Sydney Airport, Australia after arriving on a flight from Melbourne. EPA -
Men play football at a local club in Pergamino, Argentina where soccer field has been divided into 12 rectangles to keep players from making physical contact. AP Photo -
A passenger of a minibus, locally known as jeepney, looks out at a transportation bureau officer in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. EPA -
People wearing protective masks make their way during rush hour at a railway station in Tokyo, Japan. Reuters -
A youth drinks mate, a traditional herbal drink, as he looks out from the door of a gym at a school being used as a government-run quarantine shelter in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay. AP Photo -
Employees work at the Arequipe clothing factory in Bogota, Colombia, which had remained closed for 50 days during the government's coronavirus lockdown. Getty Images
