By Rich McKay and Lisa Shumaker

(Reuters) – As Wisconsin battled one of the worst coronavirus surges in the United States, a judge on Monday reinstated an order from Governor Tony Evers’ administration limiting indoor public gatherings.

The order, issued earlier this month to stem rising new COVID-19 infections in the state, put a 25% capacity limit on the number of people who may gather indoors, including at bars and restaurants, until Nov. 6.

“This critically important ruling will help us prevent the spread of this virus by restoring limits on public gatherings,” Evers said in a statement.

Wisconsin, one of several battleground states in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, is scrambling to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus that officials fear could overwhelm the state’s hospitals.

Evers’ emergency directive was challenged in court shortly after it was issued on Oct 6., and a judge initially blocked it on Oct. 14.

Wisconsin is one of five states where more than 20% of COVID-19 tests are coming back positive. Local health officials last week warned about “very intense community spread in all age groups” as they announced a string of grim records.

However, a field hospital erected at fairgrounds outside Milwaukee for COVID-19 patients was empty as of Sunday, according to Wisconsin health authorities.

FALL SURGE

The number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States last week rose 13% to more than 393,000, approaching levels last seen during a summer peak, according to a Reuters analysis.

(Graphic: Where U.S. coronavirus cases are rising and falling – https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/index.html)

Thirty-four of 50 states have seen cases increase for at least two weeks in a row, up from 29 the prior week. They include Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and North Carolina — all battleground states for the Nov. 3 election.

Deaths fell 2% to about 4,900 people for the week ended Oct. 18, according to the analysis of state and county reports. Since the outbreak started, nearly 220,000 people in the country have died and over 8.1 million have become infected with the novel coronavirus.

In New Mexico, the governor warned on Monday that the state’s healthcare resources might not be sufficient if coronavirus cases continue to rise at the current pace.

“If COVID-19 continues to exponentially spread like last week, New Mexico will not have the health care and hospital capacity for every New Mexican who needs care,” Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, wrote in a tweet.

(Graphic: Global COVID-19 tracker – https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/index.html)

(Reporting by Lisa Shumaker in Chicago and Rich McKay in Atlanta; additional reporting and writing by Maria Caspani in New York, Editing by Cynthia Osterman)