(Corrects the eighth paragraph to New York third for the cases)
By Diane Craft
July 26 (Reuters) – Florida became the second state on Sunday after California to overtake New York, the state most affected at the start of the new coronavirus outbreak in the United States, according to a Reuters count.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Sunshine State increased by 9,300 to 423,855 on Sunday, just one place behind California, which now leads the country with 448,497 cases. New York is in third place with 415,827 cases.
Still, New York has recorded the most deaths of any state in the US In over 32,000 with Florida in eighth place with almost 6,000 deaths.
On average, Florida added more than 10,000 cases per day in July, while California added 8,300 cases per day and New York added 700 cases.
The increase in Florida has continued as Republican State Governor Ron DeSantis has repeatedly said he will not make wearing masks mandatory and that schools should reopen in August.
By contrast, New York State has managed to keep the virus under control, with stores and restaurants closed and the use of mandatory masks.
The increase in cases also comes as President Donald Trump is pushing to reopen American schools in the fall, despite concerns from teachers and families that children may contract or transmit the disease if they return to the classroom.
After New York, Texas has the highest number of total coronavirus cases with 391,000. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Tropical Storm Hanna, which made landfall Saturday as a Category 1 hurricane, was especially challenging as it extended into an area of the state that has been most affected by the coronavirus. More than 146,000 Americans have died from COVID-19, nearly a quarter of the world total, and there are almost 4.2 million confirmed cases in the country, or at least 1 in 79 people have been infected.
Diane Craft Report; Editing by Lisa Shumaker
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