Florida Coronavirus Cases Rise Again, Houston Considers New Block
The dispute comes as new Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Sun Belt states, with Florida reporting a record 15,299 cases on Sunday and the city of Texas in Houston weighing a return to closure.
The Florida peak marked the highest single-day increase of any US state since the pandemic began, the Health Department recorded a new total of 269,811 positive cases. The number of deaths from the Sunshine State also increased by four, making a total of 514 deaths from Covid-19 in the past week. Disney World reopened in Orlando over the weekend, to the horror of many.
Previously, California held the record for the largest single-day gain with 11,694 cases on Wednesday. New York recorded 11,571 on April 15 at the height of the outbreak there, but yesterday recorded its first day without a coronavirus death since March, a notable achievement.
In Texas, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, both Democrats, said this weekend that a stay-at-home order is needed for the fourth-largest city in the United States. can cope with the increase in Covid-19.
The call comes after a week in which Texas continued to break records for confirmed coronavirus cases and disease-related deaths. State health officials reported 8,196 new cases, 80 other deaths and a total of 10,410 people hospitalized due to the virus on Sunday.
However, the decision on a shutdown is in the hands of Republican Governor Greg Abbott, who resisted this step and said it should be the last resort.
In total, the US now has 3.37 million coronavirus cases and up to 137,000 deaths.
Here’s Vincent Wood with the latest on the crisis.
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