Florida on Thursday reported 252 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, its third consecutive single-day total of deaths from COVID-19.
The state also reported 9,956 new cases, totaling more than 461,000 infections and 6,709 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Florida ranks as the second highest infection total in the nation, just behind California’s 473,785, according to CBS News.
Florida is the largest state in the country without some form of mask mandate in the entire state.
Reuters reported Thursday that the Miami-area school district, the fourth largest in the nation, will not immediately return students to classrooms when schools open for the academic year in a few weeks.
On Wednesday, five other states reported single-day mortality records for the virus: California, Idaho, North Carolina, Texas, and South Dakota.
Total deaths in the US from COVID-19 exceeded 150,000 on Wednesday. The virus-related deaths have increased for three straight weeks, although weekly case numbers began to drop for the first time in June.
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