© Reuters. Walt Disney World Conducts Gradual Reopening of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Restrictions in Lake Buena Vista2/2
By Lisa Shumaker
(Reuters) – Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours on Sunday, when the Trump administration renewed its pressure for schools to reopen and anti-mask protests were planned in Michigan and Missouri.
If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for most new cases in a day behind the United States, Brazil and India, according to Reuters analysis.
Florida’s daily increases in cases have already exceeded the highest daily count reported by any European country during the height of the pandemic there. It also broke New York State’s record of 12,847 new cases on April 10, when it was the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States.
The last increase was reported a day after Walt Disney (NYSE 🙂 World in Orlando reopened its doors with a limited number of guests who were greeted with a number of security measures, including masks and temperature controls.
Anti-mask activists in several states, including Florida and Michigan, have staged protests against local mandates, arguing that the measures violate individual freedom.
Coronavirus infections are on the rise in about 40 states, according to a Reuters case analysis for the past two weeks compared to the previous two weeks. Nationally, the United States has broken world records by recording around 60,000 new cases per day for the past four days in a row, according to a Reuters count. Hospitalizations and positive test rates are also increasing in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.
Florida reported a record number of tests, with nearly 143,000 results announced Sunday compared to an average of 68,000 in the past seven days.
(GRAPHIC: Tracking the New Coronavirus in the US, https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-USA/0100B5K8423/index.html)
TRUMP DONS MASK
Faced with a battered economy while seeking re-election in November, President Donald Trump has pressured states to reopen closed businesses and schools.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Sunday that her department did not have its own safe reopening plans to promote, and that each school district and state must design their own plans based on their local rates of coronavirus infection.
Health officials have asked the public to wear masks to limit the spread of the virus, but the problem has become politically divisive in the United States, unlike many other countries that have seen much lower rates of infection and death.
Seven months after the pandemic, Trump first wore a mask in public when he visited a Washington DC area military medical center on Saturday. He had previously refused to wear a mask in public or ask Americans to cover their faces, saying it was a personal choice.
Many Americans still refuse to wear a mask, which health experts say helps stop transmission of the virus that has killed more than 134,000 Americans.
Anti-mask activists staged a protest Saturday at a grilled cheese restaurant and bar in Windermere, Florida, which is located in Orange County, about 12 miles (19 km) from Walt Disney World.
The restaurant, 33 & Melt, has become a focal point of tension after owner Carrie Hudson (NYSE 🙂 said she was not forcing customers to wear masks. County officials have ordered the use of masks in public since June 20.
During Saturday’s protest, no customers wore face covers inside the restaurant. Agents from the state’s Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Division arrived during the rally and served Hudson with a warning, according to a video.
“This is a virus that is very well contained,” said one of the protesters, anti-mask activist Tara Hill. “Everyone is responsible for their own health care decisions … We also want our choices to be respected.”
In addition to a record 15,000 new cases on Sunday, more than four dozen hospitals in Florida reported that their intensive care units are full due to an increase in COVID-19 patients.
Hundreds were expected to attend a rally at the Michigan State Capitol on Sunday afternoon, according to a Facebook event (NASDAQ :), to protest against Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s order that everyone should wear a mask in public, except when they are outdoors and can maintain social life. distance.
Protesters were also planning to gather outside the city hall in Springfield, Missouri, on Monday, where the city council will vote on a mask mandate in response to the increase in cases and a more than quadruple increase in Greene County COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last month. .
(GRAPH: where coronavirus cases are on the rise in the United States, https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/index.html)
