(CNN) – Some scary statistics are coming out of Los Angeles, with the city reporting its highest number of coronavirus hospitalizations in one day.
What happened in the state that saw one of the strongest safety responses to the virus early on?
How did we get here?
California was the first to announce a stay-at-home order back on March 19.
Then 7 weeks later, Gov. Gavin Newsom reopened the state on May 8.
But that wasn’t to be.
By early June, the 7-day average for new daily coronavirus cases was more than 2,600.
By July 11, it peaked more than 9,400. That’s more than a 250% increase.
When asked what went wrong in California, Anne Rimoin, a renowned epidemiologist, said, “You know, we opened up too soon. We didn’t have the virus totally under control.”
Experts agree.
Residents and local governments got complacent.
Case in point: three suburban counties near LA all lifted their mask requirements under heavy pressure from angry residents. ...
“People are not following the rules. They’re not wearing masks. They’re not social distancing,” said Rimoin.
Among them – Californians 40 and under who make up more than half of the state’s new cases.
Also hit hard – the Latino community, which makes up a third of the state’s population, but more than half of COVID infections....
