Florida - Florida reported a record increase of
more than 15,000 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours on Sunday, a
day after Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened and anti-mask
activists held a rally at a nearby restaurant.
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. Florida 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.
Walt Disney Co welcomed a limited number of guests
to its two most popular parks in Orlando on Saturday with a host
of safety measures including masks and temperature checks.
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 the states at the center of the outbreak -- Arizona,
California, Florida and Texas.
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, President Donald Trump wore
a mask for the first time in public when he visited a Washington
D.C.-area military medical center on Saturday. Trump 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."
Florida has posted record levels of coronavirus infections,
with over 10,000 new cases five times in the last 10 days. In
addition, more than four dozen hospitals in Florida reported
that their intensive care units are full due to a surge in
Covid-19 patients.