As the United States faces the virus, Florida hits a record increase in cases

07/13/2020 Business, Health, Sports, Technology, World


S T. PETERSBURG, FLA. –

With the United States dealing with the worst coronavirus outbreak in the world, Florida reached a grim milestone on Sunday, breaking the national record for the largest single-day rise in positive cases in the state.

Deaths from the virus have also increased in the US, especially in the south and west, although they are still well below the heights reached in April, according to a recent analysis of data from the Johns Hopkins University Associated Press. .

“I really think we could control this, and it is the human element that is so critical. It should be an effort of our country. We should be together when we are in a crisis, and we definitely are not, ”said University of Florida epidemiologist Dr. Cindy Prins.

Admiral Brett Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, called wearing masks in public, which has met resistance in some states in the United States, “absolutely essential.”

Giroir, the assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, told ABC’s “This Week” Sunday that “if we don’t have that, we won’t be in control of the virus.”

President Donald Trump wore a mask in public for the first time on Saturday, something the Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, said on Sunday that showed she “crossed a bridge.”

Pelosi told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he hopes it means that the president “will change his attitude, which will be helpful in stopping the spread of the coronavirus.”

In battered Houston, Texas, two senior Democratic officials called for the nation’s fourth-largest city to be closed again as area hospitals struggle to accommodate the avalanche of sick patients.

The World Health Organization, for its part, reported another record increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in a 24-hour period, by more than 230,000.

The UN health agency said the United States again topped the list among countries, with more than 66,000 cases. The figures do not necessarily explain the delays in reporting cases, and are believed to greatly underestimate the actual totals.

Eastern European countries were among those facing increasing waves of new infections, leading to riots in Serbia, mandatory face masks in Croatia, and travel bans or quarantines imposed by Hungary.

"We see worrying signs of an increase in the number of cases in neighboring countries, Europe and the whole world," said Gergely Gulyas, chief of staff of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. "Now, we have to protect our own security and prevent the virus from entering from abroad."

Hungarian authorities said Sunday that they classified countries into three categories: red, yellow and green, depending on their rates of new coronavirus infections, and will impose restrictions, including entry bans and mandatory quarantines, depending on the country the persons.

Serbia, where health authorities warn that hospitals are almost full due to the latest increase, reported 287 new infections on Sunday, although doubts about the accuracy of the figures have increased. Officially, the country has more than 18,000 confirmed infections and 382 deaths since March. Sunday's report of 11 coronavirus deaths was the second highest number of daily deaths in the country.

Serbian police clashed with anti-government protesters for four nights last week, demonstrations that forced the Serbian president to withdraw plans to reintroduce a coronavirus blockade. Many of the growing infections are attributed to soccer games, tennis events, and nightclubs.

In Bulgaria, the authorities reintroduced the restrictions lifted a few weeks ago due to a further increase in cases.

Albania has also seen a significant increase in infections since mid-May, when it eased the blocking measures. The Balkan nation reported 93 new cases, more than double the highest daily figures in March and April, and the health ministry's situation at the main hospital for infectious diseases was "serious".

Croatia, whose coastline of the Adriatic Sea, dotted with islands, is a major tourist destination, makes wearing masks compulsory in stores starting Monday.

However, the number of infections in Eastern Europe pales compared to daily reports of coronaviruses from India, South Africa and Brazil, whose president who denies the virus has tested positive.

India, which has the majority of cases after the United States and Brazil, experienced a record increase of 28,637 cases reported in the last 24 hours. Authorities also announced a week-long lockdown starting Tuesday at South Bangalore's key technology hub, where the offices of major tech companies like Microsoft, Apple and Amazon are located.

South Africa has reported more than 10,000 new cases daily for several days in a row, including 13,497 new infections announced on Saturday night. The densely populated Soweto Township of Johannesburg is one of the virus hot spots. With more than 264,000 cases and 3,971 deaths, South Africa represents more than 40% of all reported coronavirus cases in Africa.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Sunday the country would again ban the sale of alcohol to reduce the volume of trauma patients and that hospitals have more beds to treat COVID-19. The country is also restoring the night curfew to reduce traffic accidents and has made it mandatory for all residents to wear face masks in public.

Meanwhile in Taiwan, which kept its coronavirus outbreak in a few hundred cases, an annual film festival concluded with an awards ceremony this weekend where the actors and others lined up for photo shoots with no social distance, and participants did not wear masks.

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Gorondi reported from Budapest, Hungary. Associated Press writers from around the world contributed to this report.

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