Florida sets one-day record with 15,000 new coronavirus cases
Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours late last night, cementing its position as one of the worst hit areas for the virus globally.
If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for the most new cases in a day behind the US, Brazil and India, according to a Reuters analysis.
The state also reported a record amount of testing, with nearly 143,000 results announced yesterday compared with an average of 68,000 for the prior seven days.
Florida’s daily increases in cases have already surpassed the highest one-day tally reported by any European country.
It has also broken New York’s record of 12,847 new cases on 10 April, back when it was the epicentre of the US outbreak.
The figures come a day after Disney reopened its largest theme park in Orlando, Florida. A limited number of guests were welcomed into the park with a host of safety measures, including masks and temperature checks.
Anti-mask activists in several states, including Florida and Michigan, have this week organised protests against local lockdown rules, arguing that the measures infringe upon individual freedom.
Coronavirus infections continue to rise in about 40 states, according to a Reuters analysis of cases for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks.
Nationally, the US has broken global records by registering about 60,000 new cases a day for the last four days in a row.