WASHINGTON (US) – As many as 60,500 new COVID-19 cases were reported across the United States on Thursday, setting a one-day record.
The number of cases marks a slight rise from Wednesday, when there were 60,000 new cases. It is the single day increase by any country so far.
Amid infections increasing in 41 of the 50 states over the last two weeks, Americans are increasingly divided on issues such as reopening schools and businesses. Orders on wearing face masks have sparked deabte.
“It’s just disheartening because the selfishness of (not wearing a mask) versus the selflessness of my staff and the people in this hospital who are putting themselves at risk, and I got COVID from this,” said Dr Andrew Pastewski, ICU medical director at Jackson South Medical Center in Miami.
“You know, we’re putting ourselves at risk and other people aren’t willing to do anything and in fact go the other way and be aggressive to promote the disease. It’s really, it’s really hard,” he said.
Orlando resident Stephanie Porta, 41, said that only half the shoppers at her grocery store wore face masks.
“They’re trying to make everything seem normal, when it’s not. People are dying, people are getting sick. It’s insane,” she said.
The state of Florida on Thursday recorded nearly 9,000 new cases and 120 fatalities, a record spike in deaths. Calling the rising number of cases a “blip”, Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents not to be afraid.
“I know we’ve had a lot of different blips,” DeSantis said. “We’re now at a higher blip than where we were in May and the beginning of June.”
Florida does not reveal the number of hospitalised COVID patients. But several hospitals in the state said earlier this week that their intensive care units were full.
A group of bar owners in Texas sued Republican Governor Greg Abbott saying his June 26 order to close down such establishments vilates the state constitution, said the Dallas Morning News.
Dr Robert Redfield, who heads the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Thursday that keeping schools closed would be a greater risk to children’s health than reopening them.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field