U.S-Washington state makes face masks mandatory as some states see new coronavirus surge

The governor of Washington state on Tuesday ordered residents to wear face masks in public as officials across the country sought new means to control the coronavirus pandemic while easing clamp-downs on residents and reopening the economy.

The move by Washington Governor Jay Inslee came as Arizona, California, Mississippi and Nevada reported record numbers of new cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus. Texas set a record on Monday.

Washington state, site of one of the first known outbreaks of COVID-19, saw its positive tests rise by 35 percent last week.

“This is about saving lives. It’s about reopening our businesses. And it’s about showing respect and care for one another,” Inslee, a two-term governor who earlier this year sought the Democratic nomination for president, said of the face-mask rule.

While the United States appeared to have curbed the outbreak for several weeks in May, overall cases rose 25% last week, with 10 states reporting a greater than 50% rise in new infections, according to a Reuters analysis.