By Derek Hawkins, Felicia Sonmez and Robert Costa Washington Post
July 12, 2020 at 12:08 p.m. EDT
Florida on Sunday reported a record 15,300 new coronavirus cases, the most by any state in a single day since the pandemic reached the United States.
The staggering number was the result of both increased testing and widespread community transmission that has affected the state’s population centers as well as its rural areas. It shattered the previous highs of 11,694 reported by California last week and 11,571 reported by New York on April 15.
Florida is set to hold the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville next month and has ordered schools to reopen five days a week.
Here are some significant developments:
- President Trump on Saturday wore a mask in public for the first time, while visiting wounded service members and health-care workers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Trump has previously shown disdain toward face coverings amid the coronavirus pandemic and refused to wear them.
- Louisiana’s Democratic governor announced a new requirement that most people wear a mask in public. The state’s Republican lawmakers have opposed coronavirus restrictions.
- Walt Disney World in Orlando reopened after having been shuttered for nearly four months, even as Florida continued to report record infections. Testing supplies in the state are running low, and some big labs are taking several days to return results, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said at a news conference. He partly attributed the backlog to testing many asymptomatic people.
Related news stories:
At least 60 are infected on Marine bases on Okinawa | New York Times
Coronavirus updates from around the world | CNN
Dr. Fauci is sidelined by the White House | Washington Post
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