Workers process people seeking coronavirus tests in Los Angeles, California. | Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

As US daily cases approach 200,000, officials in Oregon, New Mexico, and elsewhere implement new lockdowns.

States across the US are issuing new restrictions, travel advisories, and warnings as Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations skyrocket across the nation ahead of the holidays. On Friday, the previous record number of confirmed daily cases was shattered, reaching over 180,000, according to public health officials.

The measures being taken by state governments reflect a widening recognition that the current third wave of infections — which is already worse than the first two — could spiral even further out of control if they fail to mandate more aggressive mitigation efforts that would begin to reverse reopenings.

Oregon and New Mexico became the first states to order stringent new restrictions on Friday, taking the