Infections have increased in 41 of 50 US states in the past two weeks.
More than 60,500 new COVID-19 infections were reported in the United States on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, setting a one-day record as tired Americans take new precautions and the pandemic becomes increasingly politicized .
The total represents a slight increase from Wednesday, when there were 60,000 new cases, and marks the largest increase in a day of any country since the emergence of the pandemic in China last year.
While infections have increased in 41 of the 50 states in the past two weeks, Americans have become increasingly divided over issues such as reopening schools and businesses. Orders of governors and local leaders imposing face masks have become particularly contentious.
“It’s just disheartening because the selfishness of (not wearing a mask) versus the selflessness of my staff and the people at this hospital who put themselves at risk, and I got COVID from that”, said Dr. Andrew Pastewski, medical director of critical care. at the Jackson South Medical Center in Miami.
“You know, we put ourselves in danger and other people are unwilling to do anything and, in fact, go the other way and act to promote the disease. It really is, it is really difficult, “he said.
Stephanie Porta, 41, a lifelong resident of Orlando, Florida, said that only about half of shoppers at her grocery store wore masks, although more than she had seen two weeks ago.
“They are trying to make everything look normal, when it is not. People are dying, people are getting sick. It’s crazy,” she said.
Florida announced nearly 9,000 new cases and 120 new deaths from coronavirus on Thursday, a record daily increase in lives lost. Governor Ron DeSantis called the growing cases “a bluff” and urged residents not to be afraid.
“I know we had a lot of different blips,” said DeSantis. “We are now at a higher level than where we were in May and early June.”
Florida is one of the few states that does not disclose the number of COVID patients hospitalized. But more than four dozen Florida hospitals reported that their intensive care units had reached full capacity earlier this week.
In Texas, a group of bar owners sued Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, for saying that his June 26 closure order violated the state constitution, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States, said on Thursday that closing schools would pose a greater risk to children’s health than reopening them.
California and Texas, the two most populous states, announced a record increase in deaths from COVID on Wednesday.
California has seen an increase in cases and hospitalizations, although it has imposed one of the strictest bans. After several lawmakers and staff from the State Capitol in Sacramento were infected, lawmakers said the legislature would not return from summer vacation until July 27.
The Riverside University Health System, east of Los Angeles, expanded its 44-bed intensive care unit after filling up with patients.
“It has been very consistent every day for the past two weeks. Every day has been like a full moon,” said Stephanie Loe, an emergency doctor at Riverside, referring to the doctors’ belief that a full moon brings more of emergency patients.
The governors of California, Florida and Texas have either excluded forced closings and quarantines or have called them as a last resort. But Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti warned that he would impose a new home stay order in two weeks if the latest wave did not subside.
The rise in infections also weighed on the stock market Thursday on fears of new blockages, which would weigh on the economic recovery. The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 lost about 1%.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
