Michigan toughens mask requirement; Phoenix cuts eatery capacity

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has toughened a requirement to wear masks during the coronavirus pandemic, mandating businesses open to the public deny service or entry to customers who refuse to wear one.

The governor also expanded where people must have a face covering beyond indoor public spaces. Starting immediately, they must wear one outdoors if they cannot consistently keep 6 feet from non-household members. A mask is needed while using public transportation, a taxi or a ride-sharing vehicle, with some exceptions.

“No shirts, no shoes, no mask — no service,” Whitmer wrote in an order. Violators will be subject to a misdemeanor fine.

Whitmer points to “stalled” progress in suppressing the virus. Cases have risen in Michigan and she says spotty compliance with her monthslong mask requirement is a “big part of the reason.”

What you need to know about the virus outbreak

— Greece toughens restrictions at one border.

— Australia’s Victoria state reports new daily record of 288 cases.

— The World Health Organization is acknowledging the possibility that COVID-19 might be spread in the air under certain conditions.

— Texas hits new record for virus deaths as hospitals scramble.

— United Nations says Latin America and Caribbean are COVID-19 “hot spot.”

What else is happening

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico authorities will halt indoor restaurant service, close state parks to nonresidents and suspend autumn contact sports at schools in response to surging coronavirus infections in the state and in neighboring Texas and Arizona.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham unveiled the sweeping orders Thursday. She says they take effect Monday, saying that “we are at war with COVID-19.”

Cancelled autumn sports include football and soccer and affect not only public schools but recreational leagues for all ages. People exercising outdoors will be expected for the first time to wear a mask.

The governor says nonresidents who enter New Mexico with out-of-state plates should be prepared to answer questions about their compliance with the 14-day self-quarantine mandate.

PHOENIX — Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is ordering restaurants to work at half of their capacity, but he has declined to shut them down entirely as authorities seek to control a strong coronavirus outbreak that has doubled the daily case count in two weeks.

The governor also said Thursday the state will increase testing with a focus on low-income areas of Phoenix as many people report it hard or impossible to find tests.

Arizona continues to report record highs for hospitalizations and use of ventilators. After a drop in the number of new cases in the early part of the week, they shot back above 4,000 on Thursday.

Officials reported 75 additional deaths, increasing the state’s total to 2,038. The additional 4,057 confirmed cases reported Thursday brought the total to 112,671.

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea has reported 45 new confirmed cases of the coronavirus as health authorities scramble to stem infections in major cities across the country.

The figures announced by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday brought the national caseload to 13,338, including 288 deaths.

Twenty-three of the new cases were in the populated Seoul metropolitan area, which has been at the center of a virus resurgence since late May. Infections were also reported in other major cities such as Gwangju and Daejeon.

Health authorities say they are stuck in a difficult game of “whack-a-mole,” with new clusters popping up from various places — including churches, restaurants, nightspots and office buildings — as people increasingly venture out in the public.

BEIJING — China has reported four new confirmed coronavirus cases, and officials say all of them were brought from outside the country.

No new deaths were reported Friday and 342 people remain in treatment. An additional 121 people are in isolation and being monitored as being suspected cases or for testing positive for the virus without showing any symptoms.

China has reported 4,634 deaths from COVID-19 among 83,585 confirmed cases since the virus was first detected late last year in the central Chinese city of Wuhan.