A sign reporting the closure of South Beach, to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is seen before the weekend of July 4, in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, 3 July 2020. REUTERS / Elizabeth Fair
(Reuters) – Confirmed cases of Florida’s coronavirus rose to a record 11,458 on Saturday, the state health department said, the second time in three days that its number of cases increased by more than 10,000.
The new record came a day after seven other states also reported record increases in cases of COVID-19, the coronavirus disease that has killed nearly 130,000 Americans.
The recent increase, most pronounced in the southern and western states, has alarmed public health officials, who called for caution ahead of a July 4 holiday weekend to celebrate the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776.
The record increase in cases in Florida was more than the daily peak of any European country at the height of the outbreak there.
North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alaska, Missouri, Idaho and Alabama posted new daily highs on Friday, while Texas reached a new peak for hospitalizations.
The daily US case count stood at 53,483 late on Friday, below the previous day’s record of 55,405.
Despite the increase in infections, the average number of daily deaths in the United States has gradually decreased in recent weeks, reflecting the increasing proportion of positive tests among younger, healthier people who are less prone to severe outcomes.
Evidence that the increase is not simply due to expanded testing, the percentage of tests that tested positive in Florida increased to 14.8% in the past two weeks from 8.3% the previous two weeks, according to Reuters analysis. The World Health Organization says that a rate above 5% is worrisome.
In that context, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Giménez imposed an indefinite night curfew beginning on Friday and halted the reopening of entertainment venues such as casinos and strip clubs. Earlier this week, Miami-Dade and neighboring Broward County, the state’s two most populous counties, required residents to cover their faces in public.
Reports from Christine Chan; Editing by Daniel Wallis
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