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 The total represents a slight rise from Wednesday, when there were
60,000 new cases, and marks the largest one-day increase by any
country since the pandemic emerged in China last year.
As infections rose in 41 of the 50 states over the last two weeks,
Americans have become increasingly divided on issues such as the
reopening of schools and businesses. Orders by governors and local
leaders mandating face masks have become particularly divisive.
"It's just disheartening because the selfishness of (not wearing a
mask) versus the selflessness of my staff and the people in this
hospital who are putting themselves at risk, and I got COVID from
this," said Dr. Andrew Pastewski, ICU medical director at Jackson
South Medical Center in Miami.
"You know, we're putting ourselves at risk and other people aren't
willing to do anything and in fact go the other way and be
aggressive to promote the disease. It's really, it's really hard,"
he said.
Stephanie Porta, 41, a lifelong Orlando, Florida, resident, said
only about half the shoppers at her grocery store wore masks, though
that was more than she saw two weeks ago.
"They're trying to make everything seem normal, when it's not.
People are dying, people are getting sick. It's insane," she said.
Florida on Thursday announced nearly 9,000 new cases and 120 new
coronavirus deaths, a record daily increase in lives lost. Governor
Ron DeSantis called the rising cases a "blip" and urged residents
not to be afraid.
"I know we've had a lot of different blips," DeSantis said. "We're
now at a higher blip than where we were in May and the beginning of
June."
Florida is one of the few states that does not disclose the number
of hospitalized COVID patients. But more than four dozen Florida
hospitals reported their intensive care units reached full capacity
earlier this week.
In Texas a group of bar owners sued Governor Greg Abbott, a
Republican, saying his June 26 order closing them down violates the
state constitution, the Dallas Morning News reported.
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Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, said Thursday that keeping schools closed would be a greater risk to
children's health than reopening them.
California and Texas, the two most populous states, announced record increases
in COVID deaths on Wednesday.
California has seen cases and hospitalizations surge, even though it imposed one
of the strictest lockdowns. After several lawmakers and staffers at the state
Capitol in Sacramento were infected, lawmakers said the legislature would not
return from summer break until July 27.
Riverside University Health System, east of Los Angeles, expanded its 44-bed
intensive care unit after it filled up with patients.
"It's been very consistent every day in the last couple of weeks. Every day has
been like a full moon," Riverside emergency room physician Stephanie Loe said,
referring to doctors' beliefs that a full moon brings more patients to the
emergency room.
Governors in California, Florida and Texas have either ruled out forced business
closures and quarantines or called them a last resort. But Los Angeles Mayor
Eric Garcetti warned he would impose a new stay-at-home order in two weeks if
the latest surge did not ease.
The rise in infections also weighed on the stock market Thursday on fears of new
lockdowns, which would take a toll on the economic recovery. The Dow <.DJI> and
the S&P 500 <.SPX> ended down about 1%.
(Reporting by Omar Younis in Los Angeles, Rich McKay in Atlanta and Sharon
Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Additional reporting by Lucia Mutikani in
Washington and Maria Caspani and Sinead Carew in New York; Writing by Lisa
Shumaker and Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Cynthia Osterman, Daniel Wallis and Leslie
Adler)
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