Florida shattered previous records for any state’s biggest single-day recording of new coronavirus cases on Sunday, announcing almost 15,300 new cases.
The state added 15,299 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, to its constantly-rising total, outpacing New York’s previous daily record by more than 3,000.
Florida now has more than 269,000 total cases of the coronavirus, according to state’s health department.
The news comes as the U.S. saw another record on Friday, surpassing 70,000 new coronavirus cases nationwide for the first time, and the World Health Organization announced a record increase in new COVID-19 cases around the world on Sunday, with 230,370 new cases reported. The U.S., Brazil, India, and South Africa saw the largest spikes.
In Florida, hospitalizations are also increasing, with more than 18,000 Floridians seeking treatment for the virus, the health department said.
“There was no justification to not move forward” with the state’s reopening in May, Republican governor Ron DeSantis said on Friday, according to NBC Miami. “We have a situation where you got a lot of beds available. No major system, nobody that we’ve seen yet, has even gone to the surge level,” he said.
Disney World also re-opened parts of its Orlando park over the weekend, despite the sharp rise in cases across the state.
The state does not currently have a mandate to wear face masks, as DeSantis insists it should remain up to localities to decide what to do.
