Florida is closing bars in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus, after the state reported a record of new infections in a single day.
The announcement did not come from the Governor’s office. Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantis Florida, Texas, Arizona face obstacles to control outbreaks The Corona’s Virus Report: Geopolitical adviser Parag Khanna criticizes US and Chinese leadership on viruses; US COVID-19 cases reach highest level in a single day Palm Beach County residents express outrage at mask requirement: ‘Devil’s Laws’ (R), but from Halsey Beshears, the secretary of the agency that regulates Florida bars, who made the announcement by tweet.
Beshears said alcohol consumption at the facility will stop immediately, bringing the state back to an earlier phase of reopening.
Florida broke its one-day record of new coronavirus cases reported on Friday, adding 8,942 additional confirmed infections, according to the Health Department.
The state broke the previous record of 5,508, which was set two days ago. Florida now has 122,960 coronavirus cases statewide. There have been 3,366 total deaths.
Florida set a record of 71,433 tests conducted Thursday, and the positivity rate was 13.05 percent. The positivity rate is the ratio of positive cases to the number of tests performed.
The positivity rate for all tests, including people who were tested over several days, was 14.74 percent.
Florida is now the second state to reimpose restrictions, after Texas announced a few hours earlier that it would close the bars.
The move comes just days after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he would not move back to impose more restrictions to stop the spread of the disease.
However, on Thursday, DeSantis said the state would pause and not advance to its next phase, which would have included concert halls and other large venues that are returning to full capacity and theme parks would return to normal operations.
After initially resisting a state order to stay home, DeSantis was one of the last governors to institute one. The state began reopening businesses in May, and among the first businesses to open are restaurants, gyms, bars, and large outdoor sporting events, with crowd restrictions.
The Republican National Committee moved its convention to Jacksonville, after President Trump
Donald John Trump The Trump administration asks the Supreme Court to defeat ObamaCare Trump says there will be ‘retribution’ for those who disfigure the monuments of the White House task force that tracks coronavirus spikes even when Trump says the virus is ‘disappearing’: MORE report He said North Carolina would have imposed too many restrictions. The National Basketball Association plans to celebrate the rest of its season at Disney World, and other sports teams have also vowed to play in the state.
After the reopening, coronavirus cases in Florida were initially manageable, but began to increase in early June and were among the highest in the country.
DeSantis has resisted a state mandate for people to wear masks and has argued that the state has plenty of hospital capacity available to deal with the increasing number of cases.
It has also tried to minimize the importance of the increase in infections because the virus is aimed at younger people.
According to the state, Floridians in the age range of 25 to 34 represent the highest percentage of cases. The median age of new cases reported on Friday was 34 years.
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