The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported nearly 61,000 new cases of coronavirus in the U.S. on Wednesday, with Arizona, Florida and Texas accounting for 40 percent of the total.
Florida reported 10,085 new cases and has exceeded 300,000 confirmed cases in the state with more than 4,500 deaths, according to its Department of Health.
The Sunshine State, which is supposed to host the Republican National Convention next month, is now seeing a shortage of beds in the ICU as the virus has caused an increase of 453 hospitalizations in the past 24 hours.
Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, has refused to implement a state mask mandate and continues to push for schools to reopen in the fall.
OKLAHOMA GOV. KEVIN STITT POSITIVE TEST FOR CORONAVIRUSES
However, he appeared publicly wearing a mask for the first time to attend a press conference this week with the mayors of Miami-Dade County.
Arizona and Texas have ordered refrigeration trucks to handle the space shortage at the morgue, according to a local Fox 6 news outlet.
Arizona reported 3,257 new cases Wednesday according to the state Department of Health, and Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, represents nearly 65 percent of the state’s cases.
Reports have emerged of overcrowded hospitals, exhausted healthcare workers and a shortage of available test kits with the recent surge in coronavirus infections.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego blamed Republican Governor Doug Ducey for the virus strain, who also refused to implement a mask ban.
CORONAVIRUS KILLS A VETERINARY OF THE OHIO ARMY WHO REFUSED TO USE THE FACE MASK
Earlier this week, 26 percent of coronavirus tests tested positive for the virus, the mayor told Business Insider. The World Health Organization (WHO) has advised staying home for areas with a positive test rate of more than five percent.
City officials in Texas are calling on cities to re-enter the blockade as coronavirus cases have continuously set new records in recent weeks. Texas reported 10,745 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, the highest number of new cases reported within a day of the outbreak, according to the state Department of Health.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo have urged the governor to reissue closure measures until the hospitalization curve flattens.
“Not only do we need an order to stay home now, but we must keep it this time until the hospitalization curve goes down, it doesn’t just flatten,” Hidalgo said on Twitter on Sunday. “Many communities that persevered in that way are reopening in the long term. Let’s learn from that and don’t make the same mistake twice. “
TRUMP BLAMES POLICY TO DELAY SCHOOL REAPENTIONS
Governor Greg Abott has issued a statewide mask mandate and has delayed school openings, allowing them to continue teaching online in the fall.
But the Republican governor told a local talk show host Tuesday that he would not reinstate the blockade, adding that once they reopen, people will get sick again.
“Listen, there is no lockout right now,” said Abott’s “WBAP Rick Roberts Show.”
Health officials warned that the death rate will likely increase after recent spikes in cases, adding that the increase in cases is not just because testing capabilities have increased.
“In April and May, we were dealing with 100,000 cases per day,” World Health Organization official Michael Ryan said during a press conference. “Today we are dealing with 200,000 a day.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“What we have seen during the month of June is an acceleration in the number of cases, what has not yet accelerated with that, is the number of deaths,” Ryan said last week.
Usually, there is a delay of several weeks between the increase in the infection rate and the increase in the death rate, according to public health experts.
“We have really experienced this rapid increase in cases in the last five to six weeks,” Ryan said. “So I don’t think it’s a surprise if deaths start to increase again.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
