Michigan and Washington are the latest US states to bring in strict measures to try and curb the spread of Covid-19.

High schools and colleges are to halt on-site teaching and restaurants are prohibited from offering indoor dining in Michigan from Wednesday.

Indoor restaurant dining is also banned in Washington State, and gyms, theatres and museums will have to close.

Covid cases have now topped 11 million in the US, with daily cases rising by more than 100,000.

On average, more than 900 people a day are dying with the virus, and the overall death toll is now at least 246,210.

The Trump administration struck an optimistic tone on Friday, saying they hoped to distribute 20 million doses of an approved vaccine in December, and for each month after that - although vaccines have yet to get official approval.

President Donald Trump again ruled out putting the US into lockdown, but many states are introducing their own restrictions as fast rising cases threaten to overwhelm their healthcare systems.

How worried are the state governors?
Both Michigan and Washington State have seen covid cases double in recent weeks.

Michigan's Governor Gretchen Whitmer said the state was "at the precipice" and could soon suffer 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths a week unless action is taken.

As well as suspending in-person teaching and indoor dining, Ms Whitmer also ordered the closure of public entertainment venues for a period of three weeks.

The curbs announced in Washington State come into effect on Monday evening and will last a month.

"Today, Sunday, November 15, 2020, is the most dangerous public health day in the last 100 years of our state's history," Governor Jay Inslee said.

"A pandemic is raging in our state. Left unchecked, it will assuredly result in grossly overburdened hospitals and morgues; and keep people from obtaining routine but necessary medical treatment for non-Covid conditions."

Source: BBC

BDST: 1200 HRS, NOV 16, 2020
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