TOPLINE
On Friday, Florida reported nearly 9,000 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, breaking its previous record for most new cases in one day and cementing the state as the new outbreak epicenter in the US.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at a press conference at the Orlando Regional Medical Center on Tuesday, June … [+]
KEY FACTS
The state’s previous one-day record was 5,511 cases, set earlier this week.
Florida, along with California, Texas and Arizona, have seen a resurgence of the virus in recent weeks.
Across the United States, 39,327 new coronavirus infections were reported Thursday, beating the previous one-day record of 38,115, which was set on Wednesday.
With the increase in the number of cases, some states are now pressing the pause button, reversing reopening plans: Texas, Louisiana, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, Kansas, Maine, Nevada, and Oregon are delaying plans for reopening somehow.
Florida joined that list on Friday, after Florida Governor Ron DeSantis showed no signs of giving in for days, ordering bars to stop selling alcohol on the spot (Disneyworld, located in Florida, is still scheduled. to reopen next month).
DeSantis has attributed the record increase in coronavirus cases in his state to people who do not follow social distancing guidelines, although he has continued to minimize the threat to public health, claiming that the increase can be attributed primarily to young people, who they tend to have less severe symptoms.
Key background
Florida was one of the first states to reopen and is currently in Phase 2 of its reopening, which has allowed offices to reopen, while bars and restaurants can operate at 50% of normal capacity. After originally claiming that the increase in cases could be attributed to an increase in the increase in evidence, as President Trump has also misleadingly claimed, DeSantis acknowledged Saturday that the increasing number of new Covid-19 cases in Florida cannot explained by an increase in tests. “Even with increasing or decreasing evidence, the number of people with positive results accelerates faster than that,” DeSantis told reporters during a briefing at the state capitol. “You know that is evidence that there is transmission within those communities.”
CRUCIAL APPOINTMENT
During a Capitol Hill hearing on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that states may need to reconsider their reopening plans as cases continue to rise across the country. “I wouldn’t necessarily say outright shutdown, but if someone goes from the gateway to Phase 1 to Phase 2 and gets into trouble in Phase 2, they may have to go back to Phase 1,” he said. . Fauci cited Texas, Arizona and Florida among the states that may need to consider these measures.
Surprising fact
To put Florida’s record number in perspective, New York’s largest one-day increase in cases was 12,274, set on April 12.
Tangent
As the outbreaks continue to worsen in various states, the Trump Administration is considering pivoting toward a new strategy that tests people in groups, the Washington Post reports. That would allow officials to screen more people with fewer resources and more quickly identify and isolate those infected.
OTHER READINGS
Texas has set a new record for coronavirus hospitalizations every day for 2 weeks (Forbes)
Fauci says Trump is considering changing the coronavirus strategy: group evidence (Forbes)
All 50 states have partially reopened now: this is how they could be asked to ‘re-close’ (Forbes)
California coronavirus hospitalizations increase 32% in 14 days (Forbes)
Mask Wars: As mandates grow, and coronavirus cases increase, some conservatives reject (Forbes)
