Several US governors, from the coastal states of New Jersey and California to the heartland of Iowa and Ohio, are taking steps to restrict gatherings and boost face-coverings in confronting a coronavirus surge they warned is out of control, reported Reuters.

Each of the four governors acknowledged that tighter limits on social interactions would prove especially difficult through the winter holidays. But without efforts to immediately tamp down the spread of the virus, the governors warned, more drastic action would be necessary in the near future.