WASHINGTON, June 24 (Xinhua) -- A growing number of U.S. states have mandated mask-wearing in public places as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the country, where so far over 120,000 people have died from the novel coronavirus.
Roy Cooper, governor of the southeastern state of North Carolina, announced Wednesday the state will remain in "Phase Two" for another three weeks until July 17, with face coverings mandatory in public places.
On May 22, the state entered "Phase Two," which was scheduled to expire on Friday, and the mask-wearing requirement will take effect on Friday afternoon.
North Carolina, with an additional 1,721 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, is the latest U.S. state that made the use of masks and face coverings mandatory to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Faced with a recent uptick in confirmed COVID-19 cases, Washington State Governor Jay Inslee announced Tuesday that a new statewide mandate requiring residents to wear face masks will go into effect on Friday.
Not wearing facial coverings would amount to a misdemeanor crime, Inslee said.
On June 18, California Governor Gavin Newsom, alarmed by swelling COVID-19 infections, ordered Californians to wear masks in nearly all outdoor and indoor settings.
Prior to the state's rule, Los Angeles, San Diego and most Bay Area counties had already imposed their own requirements.
Since April, over a dozen U.S. states, including New York, Illinois, Michigan, Massachusetts, Delaware and Maryland, have already issued mask-wearing orders. The District of Columbia also joined them.
In the United States, the spread of the virus has trended downward in some of the hardest-hit places like New York state. However, several southern and southwestern states are seeing upticks in their coronavirus case counts.
More than 35,000 new coronavirus cases were identified across the United States on Tuesday, according to a New York Times database, the highest single-day total since late April.
Florida on Wednesday reported another 5,508 cases in a single day, setting a new daily record. Texas confirmed more than 5,000 cases on Tuesday, its highest single-day jump. Arizona saw a new record of more than 3,600 cases.
"In some respects, we've done very well," Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told a Congress panel on Tuesday.
"However, in other areas of the country, we are now seeing a disturbing surge of infections that looks like it's a combination, but one of the things is an increase in community spread. And that's something I'm really quite concerned about," he said.
The senior expert said the next few weeks are critical to tamping down the surge of the virus in the United States.
"Plan A, don't go in a crowd. Plan B, if you do, make sure you wear a mask," Fauci said.
On April 3, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made a recommendation that citizens should wear "non-medical, cloth masks" when it is essential to be in public places to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Previously, the CDC had recommended that only those with COVID-19 symptoms wear masks publicly.
Wearing face masks, however, remains controversial around the country. Many top White House officials have repeatedly refused to follow the practice.
Recent research showed that 73 percent of Democrats wore masks amid the outbreak, while only 59 percent of Republicans did. Enditem
