Coronavirus: Florida reports record one-day spike in Covid-19 cases of 3,207

New positive results have increased nearly every day for past two weeks

James Crump
Thursday 18 June 2020 22:36 BST
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The number of coronavirus cases in Florida has hit a new daily record, amid a rise in positive results in states across the US.

On Thursday morning, Florida’s Department of Health announced 3,207 new coronavirus cases, setting a new daily record for the state.

The amount of new cases topped the previous record of 2,783 positive results, which was set on Tuesday.

The state also announced 188 new hospitalisations, bringing the total since 1 March, when the virus was first reported in the state, to 12,577.

There are now 85,926 confirmed coronavirus cases in Florida, and 3,061 deaths, after 43 additional fatalities were announced on Thursday.

The US has seen a rise in coronavirus cases in the last couple of weeks, with 21 states reporting upticks in the number of positive cases, since lockdown restrictions in numerous states were eased again.

Florida has seen an increase in new cases nearly every day for the past couple of weeks, and on Monday at least six bars in Florida announced that they were closing again, one week after they reopened.

On Tuesday, after what was then the biggest daily increase in cases, Florida governor Ron DeSantis confirmed that the state would continue with its lockdown easing measures.

“We’re not shutting down, we’re gonna go forward, we’re gonna continue to protect the most vulnerable,” he said during a press conference on Tuesday.

Mr DeSantis added that the effects on the economy to completely shut the state down again would be too negative for local businesses and workers.

“You have to have society function, you have to be able to have a cohesive society, that’s the best way to be able to deal with the impacts of the virus,” Mr DeSantis said.

“But particularly when you have a virus that disproportionately impacts one segment of society, to suppress a lot of working-age people at this point I don’t think would likely be very effective.”

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 2.1 million people who have tested positive for coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached at least 118,175.

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