The United States again broke its own record for new coronavirus cases in a single day, with over 66,600 fresh infections documented on Friday, according to latest data from Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. has broken its own record in three out of the last four days, according to the university’s tracker.
Florida, one of the states seeing the sharpest spike, reported more than 10,000 daily cases and 93 new deaths.
Disney resorts in the state are starting to reopen, beginning with the Magic Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom.
Governor Ron De Santis rejected the idea that he had pushed his state to reopen too quickly before the virus spread was under control.
This contradicts what Anthony Fauci, the government’s infectious disease expert has said.
Fauci warned that states, seeing surges of new cases, moved too swiftly in recent weeks and did not follow guidelines.
During a press conference on Saturday, De Santis said he would not be imposing a mandatory mask requirement state-wide.
Disney has enforced one at its locations, as part of its reopening, which comes about four months after the pandemic forced the parks to shut down.
Georgia, also a hotspot, shattered its own record, with more than 4,000 new cases.
However, a fight is brewing between the mayor of the state’s main city, Atlanta, a Democrat, who is trying to roll back re-openings, and the governor, a Republican, who is refusing.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms warned of “alarming” spike in new cases.
The White House has downplayed the severity of the new outbreaks across multiple states, insisting, despite the evidence that the rising caseloads are only due to expanded testing and focusing on death rates.
While mortality figures have been in sharp decline, they are starting to tick back up, with places like Texas and Florida seeing sustained high levels, far surpassing their peaks earlier in the pandemic.
Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, has been urging citizens to wear masks, despite resistance and warned he may have to impose new rules if cases and hospitalisations continue to climb.
President Donald Trump, who generally does not wear a mask, is due to visit a military hospital and has said he likely would wear a face covering while spending time with injured soldiers.
