A4 THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2020
Tracking an Outbreak
0 NThe coronavirus is slogging through the South and Southwest —
cases have surged 14 percent over 14 days, and the 35,000 new cases
on Tuesday were the most on a single day since late April. People in
places that were spared early in the pandemic are fearful, and offi-
cials in places that were ravaged early are trying desperately to
keep what they did to control the outbreak from being undone.
On Wednesday, governors from the early epicenter of the out-
break in the Northeast said that arriving travelers would have to
quarantine for 14 days. Under the “joint travel advisory” announced
by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, Gov. Philip D. Murphy of
New Jersey and Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut, travelers from
eight states with high infection rates would have to isolate them-
selves. But more states could be added to the list and any of the
original eight could be removed, depending on how their caseloads
fare.
Under thresholds detailed in the advisory, the quarantine re-
quirement would apply to anyone from a state where 10 percent of
the Covid-19 tests were positive or where there was a seven-day
average of more than 10 new cases for every 100,000 people.
Together, the three Northeastern states have reported more
than 26 percent of the nation’s 2.3 million cases and 39 percent of
the 121,000 deaths. But the number of new cases in New York has
largely remained flat for the last 14 days, at around 630 cases. New
cases in New Jersey and Connecticut have also trailed off in June.
“We now have to make sure that the rate continues to drop,” Mr.
Cuomo said. “A lot of people come into this region and they could
literally bring the infection with them. It wouldn’t be malicious or
malevolent, but it would still be real.”
He said that failure to go into isolation in New York could result
in thousand-dollar fines. Connecticut is considering putting up signs
just inside its borders and getting the word out on social media.
The announcement by the three governors was a turnabout
from a couple of months ago, when Florida and Rhode Island sin-
gled out travelers from New York. It came amid the continuing
national debate over whether to reimpose restrictions or push ahead
with reopenings. The result is a patchwork of rules even more con-
fusing than during shutdowns that varied from state to state. In
some places, the orders on mask wearing have come from local
authorities. Miami told residents to wear masks outdoors as well as
in public spaces indoors. Across Florida in Clearwater, by contrast,
the Pinellas County commissioners mandated masks indoors but
said nothing about wearing them outdoors.
In Washington State, Gov. Jay Inslee ordered everyone to wear a
mask indoors and outdoors, declaring that “this is about saving
lives.” Oregon, to the south, has no statewide mask requirement. But
seven of its counties do, under an order from Gov. Kate Brown.
Across the border in Idaho, which reported 242 cases on Monday, a
one-day record, bars are shutting down and gatherings of more than
50 people are again outlawed. There is no mask requirement, but
last week a public health administrator in the state’s Department of
Health and Welfare posted a video on Facebook promoting mask
wearing.
In Texas, one of the first states to reopen, Gov. Greg Abbott told
residents to just stay home. He declared that many Texans had not
grasped the magnitude of the outbreak. After Texas reported more
than 5,000 new cases on Tuesday, its largest single-day total, Mayor
Sylvester Turner of Houston said, “I strongly feel we are moving in
the wrong direction and we are moving fast.”
In places where the coronavirus appeared to be under control,
new outbreaks remain a risk. Japan’s seven-day average of new
cases has climbed to 57, from 39 two weeks ago. Cumulatively, 253
new infections have been reported in Tokyo in the last week, 83 from
a single nightlife district.
In Rome, which recently emerged from one of the strictest lock-
downs in Europe, 122 people were linked to a cluster at a hospital,
the San Raffaele Pisana Institute. Separately, 18 people who lived in
a building with shared bathrooms came down with the virus. “As
soon as we lowered our guard,” said Paolo La Pietra, who owns a
tobacco shop in the neighborhood, “it hit us back.”
In Gütersloh, in western Germany, more than 1,500 workers
from a meat-processing plant tested positive, prompting the authori-
ties to order weeklong “soft lockdowns” there and in neighboring
North Rhine-Westphalia. “The restrictions are less extensive than in
March,” the district administrator in Gütersloh, Sven-Georg Ade-
nauer, explained on his website. “That was particularly important to
me. I am glad that, for example, the shops can remain open.”
Widening Economic Fallout
Two indicators of the economic toll of the pandemic came from
the International Monetary Fund and Mayor Sadiq Khan of London.
The I.M.F. lowered its forecast for global growth, predicting that
the world economy would shrink 4.9 percent this year. That is no-
ticeably bleaker than the 3 percent it predicted in April. It also pro-
jected a 5.4 percent global growth rate in 2021, far below its pre-
pandemic projections.
The I.M.F. also revised its estimate for the United States, saying
the nation’s gross domestic product — the value of all goods and
services produced in the United States — would plunge 8 percent
this year, even more than its April estimate of a 5.9 percent slide.
Such projections have leaders around the world worried about
reduced revenue from taxes. Mr. Khan, the London mayor, said that
he was considering relocating City Hall to save money. Moving to
East London from the center of the British capital would save about
£55 million, or roughly $68 million, over five years, he said.
By JAMES BARRONCoronavirus Update
Coronavirus Update wraps up the day’s developments with infor-
mation from across the virus report.New U.S. Cases Up 14% Over Past 2 Weeks
Fresh Outbreaks Reported in Italy and Japan
Global Economy Is Expected to Shrink 4.9%
New Coronavirus Cases Announced Daily in U.S.THE NEW YORK TIMESMarch 1 June 24
Note: Wednesday’s total is incomplete because some states report cases
after press time. Data is as of June 24, 2020, at 5 p.m. Eastern.
Sources: State and local health agencies; hospitals; C.D.C.
As of Wednesday evening, more than 2,383,500 people across every
state, plus Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories, have tested
positive for the virus, according to a New York Times database.
New cases7-day
average
10,30,20,Hot Spots in the United StatesSources: State and local health agencies. The map shows where the average number of reported cases over the past two weeks is increasing, decreasing or
about the same. Counties with fewer than 20 cases over the past two weeks and parts of a county with a population density lower than 10 people per square mile
are not shaded. Data for Rhode Island is shown at the state level because county data is infrequently reported. Data is as of June 24, 2020, at 5 p.m., Eastern. THE NEW YORK TIMESAs of Wednesday evening, more than 2 , 383 ,5 00 people across every state, plus Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories, have tested positive for
the coronavirus, according to a New York Times database. More than 12 1, 800 people with the virus have died in the United States.How the number of new cases
has changed over the last two weeksNev.Ga.Miss.Conn.N.C.IowaN.D.Falling Rising ĺ Few or same
number of casesKan.TexasR.I.Mass.Ark.UtahMont.S.C.Mich.Calif.Wis.N.M.Ill.Fla.Wyo.N.Y.Ind.Ore.MaineAlaskaTenn.Pa.Md.Ariz.Wash.N.H.HawaiiMo.Del.
W.Va.N.J.IdahoD.C.OhioKy.Okla.La.Ala.Vt.Neb.S.D.Minn.Colo. Va.Puerto RicoMOSCOW — Putting to one side
Russia’s unfinished battle against
the coronavirus, President Vladi-
mir V. Putin on Wednesday cele-
brated his country’s victory 75
years ago against Nazi Germany,
presiding over an enormous mili-
tary parade through Red Square
that featured thousands of sol-
diers marching shoulder-to-shoul-
der without face masks.
The parade, the largest of sev-
eral celebrations taking place na-
tionwide, was originally sched-
uled for May 9, a joyous annual
holiday known as Victory Day, but
was delayed for six weeks by the
coronavirus pandemic. The out-
break continues to grow in Russia
— the world’s third hardest hit
country, with nearly 600,000 cases
— but at a slightly slower pace
than before.
Aging veterans in their 80s and
90s joined Mr. Putin on the re-
viewing stand, nearly all of them
without masks, to watch 14,
troops march in tight formation to
stirring martial music. Tanks,
missiles and other military equip-
ment then trundled through the
square in front of the Kremlin, fol-
lowed by a flyover by strategic
bombers, fighter jets and helicop-
ters.
Mr. Putin, who has spent most
of the past three months cooped
up at his country residence, is
hoping that the Moscow parade,
one of dozens held across the
country on Wednesday, will help
lift the gloom that has settled over
his rule in recent weeks. The crisis
has sent his approval rating to its
lowest level since he came to
power 20 years ago.
Having staked so much of his
previous popularity on Russia’s
re-emergence as a major global
power, Mr. Putin on Wednesday
basked in the glory of Russia’s im-
mense role in the defeat of Hitler’s
Germany and the liberation of Eu-
rope during World War II.
“It is impossible to even imag-
ine what would have happened to
the world had it not been for the
Red Army that stood up to defend
it” against fascism, he said in a
speech at the start of the parade.
Few foreign leaders, however,
were on hand to hear his message.
European leaders stayed away,
with a few exceptions: the presi-
dent of Serbia, Aleksandar Vucic,
and the leaders of Moldova and
Belarus, former Soviet republics.
President Emmanuel Macron of
France and others had planned to
attend the previously planned pa-
rade in May but skipped the re-
scheduled event.
China and India, vying for Rus-
sia’s support after recent clashes
between their armies in a remote
border region, sent senior officials
and also soldiers, who took part in
the parade. China sent the largest
foreign contingent.
The military parades began
shortly after midnight Moscow
time on Tuesday evening in Kam-
chatka on the Pacific Ocean and
then rolled across the country’s 11time zones. As the main parade
was winding down in Moscow,
troops began marching in Kali-
ningrad, a former German terri-
tory known as East Prussia that
was seized by the Soviet Union af-
ter Hitler’s defeat.
Kremlin critics have accused
Mr. Putin of gambling with public
health in order to put himself at
the center of a gigantic display of
Russia’s military might and to
rally support ahead of a nation-
wide vote on his future. Voting on
constitutional amendments that
would allow Mr. Putin to stay in
power until 2036 begins on Thurs-
day.
The mayor of Moscow, Sergei
Sobyanin, urged residents to
watch the parade on television in-
stead of thronging the streets of
the city as they usually do. Thou-
sands of people still went outside
to watch, but the crowds were
smaller than usual.
Yelena Loginova, a 36-year-old
psychologist, who attended the
parade said she had ignored the
mayor’s advice to watch the
events on TV because it was
“much more interesting” to see in
person.
“You immediately have totally
different emotions than on televi-
sion,” she said. “You feel it directly
when the heavy ones drive by. The
asphalt shakes under your feet.”
She said she had traveled with
her son from a Yoshkar-Ola, a
town 500 miles east of Moscow,
just to see the parade in person.
Wearing a mask pulled down to
her chin, she said she had not even
thought about the possible risks of
standing in a crowd of strangers
on the street.
Russia on Wednesday reported
7,176 new coronavirus cases over
the previous 24 hours. The daily
increase in infections has dropped
from around 10,000 in May, but
public health officials have
warned that the battle is far from
over.
In a sign of the risks involved in
holding such a large-scale event,two members of an official delega-
tion that traveled from Kyrgyz-
stan to attend the Moscow parade
tested positive for coronavirus.
The Kyrgyz president, who was
traveling with them, stayed away
from Red Square on Wednesday.
Even Mr. Putin, in a televised
address to the nation on Wednes-
day, cautioned that, “the fight
against the epidemic continues.”
With the economy and his rat-
ings slumping, however, Mr. Putin
has sought to revive the country’s
spirit with proud memories of
Russia’s unequivocal triumph
over Nazi Germany.
The Soviet Union lost up to 27
million lives during World War II,known in Russia as the Great Pa-
triotic War. Mr. Putin has made
the victory over fascism the
touchstone of Russia’s collective
identity, while also using it as a
propaganda battering ram
against the West or any griev-
ances directed at Moscow from
abroad.
In a lengthy essay published
last week, Mr. Putin assailed what
he described as Western distor-
tions of history, defending a 1939pact of friendship between the
Kremlin and Hitler as an inevita-
ble consequence of appeasement
by Britain, France and others. He
also claimed that the Baltic States,
seized by the Soviet Union as part
of the 1939 pact with Hitler, had
freely given up their independ-
ence and had no right to complain
about Soviet aggression.
Mr. Putin’s own version of his-
tory has infuriated Baltic coun-
tries and also Poland, which he ac-
cused of conniving with Hitler. But
the issue has become so inviolable
inside Russia that among the con-
stitutional amendments up for a
vote this week is one banning the
“distortion” of Russia’s past.
Moscow held its first grand vic-
tory parade on June 24, 1945, an
event presided over by Stalin, and
resumed the ritual in 1965 under
the Soviet leader Leonid I. Brezh-
nev. The tradition was halted after
the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Un-
ion until President Boris N. Yel-
tsin revived it in 1995, the 50th an-
niversary of Hitler’s defeat, with a
large display of troops and mili-
tary hardware in Red Square.
President Clinton and several
other Western leaders attended
Mr. Yeltsin’s celebration, a display
of respect for Russia’s wartime
sacrifice that Mr. Putin had hoped
would be repeated this year.
While pledging that Russia
“will never forget our allies’ con-
tribution to the common victory,”
Mr. Putin had a blunt message for
absent Western leaders on
Wednesday:
“Remember that the Soviet peo-
ple shouldered the main burden of
the fight against Nazism,” he said.
“It was our people who defeated
the terrible, total evil, crushed
more than 600 divisions, de-
stroyed 75 percent of the total
number of Nazi aircraft, tanks, ar-
tillery units, and walked their
righteous and infinitely sacrificial
path to the end, to their victorious
destination.”
This, he said, “is the main truth
about the war, honest and clear.”RUSSIAN PARADESTanks and Soldiers, but Few Masks, on Victory Day
Russian sailors marching during the Victory Day Parade in Red Square in Moscow on Wednesday.MIKHAIL VOSKRESENSKIY/HOST PHOTO AGENCY, VIA REUTERSBy ANDREW HIGGINSSophia Kishkovsky contributed re-
porting.President Vladimir V. Putin
celebrating Russia’s role in the
defeat of Hitler’s Germany.ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/SPUTNIK, VIA A.F.P.