Florida breaks record for new COVID-19 cases again with more than 10,000 in a day
New coronavirus cases are continuing to rise in Florida, which just set yet another daily record.
The Florida Department of Health on Thursday said it has confirmed 10,109 new COVID-19 cases, the Miami Herald reports. That breaks the state's previous record for most new cases in a day after 9,585 cases were reported on Saturday. In total, the state has confirmed nearly 170,000 coronavirus cases, and its new cases have grown by more than 100 percent since June 23, Axios reports. The state on Thursday additionally confirmed 67 new COVID-19 deaths; Florida's coronavirus death toll has reached 3,617.
To put these new numbers in perspective, writer Matt O'Brien notes that the Philippines, Japan, the European Union, and more areas with a population of 2.6 billion people combined are averaging about 6,700 new cases.
With a population of 21 million, Florida announced 10,109 new covid cases today.
With a combined population of 2.6 billion, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia, and the European Union are averaging 6,760 new cases. pic.twitter.com/B5zHka3oNn
— Matt O'Brien (@ObsoleteDogma) July 2, 2020
After Florida reported almost 9,000 new COVID-19 cases last week, it suspended on-site alcohol consumption at bars. But earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said the state is "not going back" on its reopening.
Florida is one of a number of states that has been seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases, and on Wednesday, the U.S. passed 50,000 new daily cases for the first time. Earlier this week, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, warned that if things don't turn around, he "would not be surprised" if the U.S. starts reporting 100,000 new cases a day.
"Clearly, we are not in total control right now," he added.