Florida reported a record increase of more than 15,000 new cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours on Sunday, as the Trump administration renewed its push 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 the most new cases in a day behind the United States, Brazil and India, according to a Reuters analysis.
Florida's daily increases in cases have already surpassed the highest daily tally reported by any European country during the height of the pandemic there. It has also broken New York state's record of 12,847 new cases on April 10 when it was the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak.
The latest rise was reported a day after Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened with a limited number of guests who were welcomed with a host of safety measures, including masks and temperature checks.
Anti-mask activists in several states, including Florida and Michigan, have organized protests against local mandates, arguing that the measures infringe upon individual freedom.
Coronavirus infections are rising in about 40 states, according to a Reuters analysis of cases for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks. Nationally, the United States has broken global records by registering about 60,000 new cases a day for the last four days in a row, according to a Reuters tally. Hospitalizations and positive test rates are also rising in Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.
Florida reported a record amount of testing, with nearly 143,000 results announced on Sunday compared with an average of 68,000 for the prior seven days.
TRUMP DONS MASK
Facing a battered economy as he seeks re-election in November, President Donald Trump has pressured states to reopen shuttered businesses and schools.
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said on Sunday that her department did not have its own safe reopening plans to promote, and each school district and state must devise their own plans based on their local coronavirus infection rates.
Health officials have pleaded with the public to wear masks to limit the spread of the virus, but the issue has become politically divisive in the United States unlike many other countries that have seen far lower rates of infection and death.
Seven months into the pandemic, Trump wore a mask for the first time in public when he visited a Washington D.C.-area military medical center on Saturday. He had previously refused to wear a mask in public or ask Americans to wear face coverings, saying it was a personal choice.
Many Americans still refuse to wear a mask, which health experts say help stop transmission of the virus that has killed more than 134,000 Americans.
Anti-mask activists organized a protest on Saturday at a grilled cheese restaurant and bar in Windermere, Florida, which is 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 said she was not requiring customers to wear masks. County officials have mandated the use of masks in public since June 20.
During Saturday's protest, no customers wore face coverings inside the restaurant. Agents from the state's Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco 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 demonstrators, anti-mask activist Tara Hill. "Everyone is responsible for their own health care decisions ... We want our choices respected as well."
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 a surge in COVID-19 patients.
Hundreds were expected to attend a demonstration at the Michigan state capitol on Sunday afternoon, according to a Facebook event, to protest against Governor Gretchen Whitmer's order that everyone must wear a mask in public, except when outdoors and able to maintain social distance.
Protesters were also planning to gather outside city hall in Springfield, Missouri on Monday, where the city council was due to vote on a mask mandate in response to rising cases and a more than fourfold increase in Greene County's COVID-19 hospitalizations in the last month.
Reuters
Mon Jul 13 2020
From left: Summer Selmon, her brother Levi, and their parents Dave and Brandi wear face masks while visiting Walt Disney World during a phased reopening from COVID-19 restrictions in Florida, U.S. July 11, 2020 - REUTERS/REUTERS/Octavio Jones
AWANI Borneo [19/04/2024] – Perubahan iklim | Kekurangan pakar perubatan | Dipercayai dibaham buaya
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas dari Borneo bersama Fauzi Zin
#AWANIBorneo 19 April 2024
- Abang Jo ke Poland kongsi pengalaman Sarawak urus perubahan iklim
- Sabah mahu autonomi kesihatan seperti Sarawak
- Usaha cari warga emas dipercayai dibaham buaya masih buntu
#AWANInews
#AWANIBorneo 19 April 2024
- Abang Jo ke Poland kongsi pengalaman Sarawak urus perubahan iklim
- Sabah mahu autonomi kesihatan seperti Sarawak
- Usaha cari warga emas dipercayai dibaham buaya masih buntu
#AWANInews
Palestin kecam AS guna kuasa veto halang keanggotaan penuh negara itu dalam PBB
Palestin mengecam sekeras-kerasnya keputusan Amerika Syarikat (AS) yang menggunakan kuasa veto bagi menolak usul Majlis Keselamatan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (UNSC) pada Khamis yang menuntut ke
Pengarah Mentega Terbang gagal peroleh kebenaran merayu, perintah larangan bersuara kekal
Panel hakim membuat keputusan itu selepas menolak permohonan Mohd Khairianwar untuk kebenaran meneruskan rayuan bagi mengetepikan perintah tersebut.
Polis tingkat kawalan, penugasan di KLIA
Polis Diraja Malaysia (PDRM) meningkatkan kawalan dan jumlah penugasan pegawai serta anggota di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) Terminal 1 dan 2 sejak Selasa lepas.
Titah Adendum di bawah kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan - Anwar
Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak mahu terlibat dengan perbincangan membabitkan titah tambahan berhubung tahanan di rumah membabitkan bekas Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Sambutan Aidilfitri Madani Peringkat Kebangsaan dI Sabah esok
Sambutan Aidilfitri bertemakan 'Perpaduan Melalui Perayaan' itu akan dirasmikan Yang Dipertua Negeri Sabah Tun Juhar Mahiruddin dan diserikan lagi dengan kehadiran Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim dan Ketua Menteri Sabah Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor.
Pemergian Joseph Kurup kehilangan besar buat negara - TPM
Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof menyifatkan mendian Joseph Kurup sebagai pemimpin yang sangat baik dan banyak menyumbang kepada pembangunan Sabah.
Joseph Kurup guru dan sahabat dalam politik - Hajiji
Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor menyifatkan mendian Tan Sri Joseph Kurup sebagai seorang yang sangat banyak berjasa bukan hanya kepada pembangunan Sabah malah mediang dianggap seperti mentornya dalam politik.
Inisiatif bekalan air bersih di pedalaman bakal jadi tumpuan sidang DUN Sarawak
Empat agensi air di bawah Kementerian Utiliti dan Telekomunikasi Sarawak sedang merangka inisiatif bagi memastikan sasaran 100 peratus bekalan air bersih di seluruh Sarawak menjelang 2030 tercapai.
Fenomena 'Alamak Raya Lagi' tarik minat kaum lain bersama raikan Aidilfitri
Lagu 'Alamak Raya Lagi' dendangan kumpulan De Fam terus mencetuskan fenomena apabila sekumpulan gadis berbangsa India turut menjadi tular.
COVID-19: Tiga kes kematian dicatat, ini lima tumpuan kenyataan media KKM
Terdapat 108 kes positif COVID-19 yang sedang dirawat di Unit Rawatan Rapi (ICU), di mana 47 kes memerlukan bantuan pernafasan.
Sultan Perak, Sultan Selangor, Sultan Johor antara yang hadir ke Istana Negara
Pertemuan itu dijangka bagi membincangkan beberapa cadangan yang dipersembahkan oleh kerajaan terutamanya mengenai penularan COVID-19.
Pusat Jagaan Darul Hanan ambil langkah pengasingan penghuni, pekerja
Difahamkan seorang wanita warga emas yang baru masuk ke situ minggu lepas disahkan COVID-19 kelmarin.
COVID-19: Tiga lagi sekolah di Perak diarah tutup
Sebanyak tiga sekolah di Perak diarah tutup selama tujuh hari mulai hari ini selepas terdapat jangkitan wabak COVID-19 dalam kalangan pelajar di sekolah berkenaan.
Kluster Penjara Jawi: Seorang lagi pegawai penjara positif COVID-19
Pegawai wadar itu bertugas di blok baharu yang menjaga sekumpulan banduan yang dijangkiti COVID-19 sebelum ini.
SMK Lubuk China dan SK Telok Berembang di Melaka diarah tutup
Dua buah sekolah di Masjid Tanah, Melaka diarah tutup selepas seorang pelajar dari kedua-dua sekolah berkenaan disahkan positif COVID-19.
Cawangan utama BSN Kota Kinabalu ditutup, kakitangan positif COVID-19
Cawangan BSN ditutup bermula hari ini bagi melaksanakan kerja-kerja pembersihan menyeluruh.
Jepun tarik balik larangan perjalanan ke Malaysia, 11 negara lain
Sebelas negara lain termasuk China, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Singapura dan Korea Selatan.
Maaflah jika Abah ini mula menggunakan rotan! - Muhyiddin
Katanya, selepas ini hukuman kompaun akan dikenakan tanpa mengira pangkat dan darjat terhadap mereka yang melanggar prosedur operasi standard (SOP) berkaitan COVID-19.
COVID-19: 691 kes baharu dilaporkan, majoriti di Penjara Alor Setar
Jumlah kes baharu positif COVID-19 yang dilaporkan hari ini ialah sebanyak 691.