The U.S. state of Florida set a new record, reporting over 15,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in one day Sunday.
The number by far beat previous records of single-day increases in a U.S. state. The previous record was seen in California on Wednesday when the state recorded 11,694 new cases.
Florida now has nearly 270,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has seen 4,346 deaths. The state had eased lockdown restrictions in recent weeks, including theme park Disney World opening its doors to guests in masks Saturday, despite recommendations by health experts to avoid gathering in crowds.
There are now more than 12.7 million COVID-19 infections around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with more than a half million deaths.
The U.S. has roughly one-fourth of the world’s infections at 3.2 million and more than 134,000 deaths.
On the day the U.S. reported a record 66,528 new cases, President Donald Trump was seen wearing a mask for first time Saturday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the outskirts of Washington.
“When you’re in a hospital, especially ... I think it’s a great thing to wear a mask,” he said.
Trump has mocked reporters and others for wearing masks, a practice that has helped many countries to reduce the coronavirus infection and death rate.
The Arizona Republic newspaper published a seething obituary last week written by a woman whose father died from the virus. In it, she blames U.S. politicians and “their clear lack of leadership” for his death. Kristin Urquiza wrote of her father, Mark Urquiza, who was a 65-year-old Mexican American: “His death is due to the carelessness of the politicians who continue to jeopardize the health of brown bodies through a clear lack of leadership, refusal to acknowledge the severity of this crisis, and inability and unwillingness to give clear and decisive direction on how to minimize risk.”
South Carolina reported more than 2,200 new infections Saturday, while Louisiana reported more than 2,600 Friday.
Mexico reported more than 6,000 new cases Saturday. Russia said Sunday that it also had more than 6,000 new infections.
More than 60 U.S. Marines have contracted the virus on the U.S. base in Okinawa.
Japan said Sunday Tokyo has confirmed 206 new cases in the capital. New infections in Tokyo have been over 200 for four straight days.
