June 27 (UPI) — Florida broke its single-day record for COVID-19 cases again Saturday with 9,585 cases in 24 hours.
The statewide numbers broke Friday’s record of 8,942 cases as COVID-19 cases surged from a previous record of 5,508 new cases Thursday.
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the Florida Department of Health said Saturday that 132,545 cases have been reported statewide and over 3,300 people have died from the virus.
Out of 67 counties statewide, new cases Saturday show that South Florida counties have been hardest hit. Miami-Dade County alone reported 1,366 new cases, Broward County reported 726 new cases, and Palm Beach County reported 430 new cases.
About 1.83 million people statewide have been tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic began, the Florida Department of Health said Saturday. In South Florida, 9.2 percent of people tested for COVID-19 have been diagnosed. Statewide, about 7.2 percent of people tested have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Florida and Texas both closed bars Friday as COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations increased.
In Texas, more than 5,100 new COVID-19 patients were admitted to hospitals Friday, the 15th straight day of record hospitalizations.
Texas Gov. Greg Abott told ABC-7 he regretted opening bars earlier.
“If I could go back and redo anything, it probably would have been to slow down the re-opening of bars,” Abbott told ABC-17. “Now, seeing in the aftermath of how quickly the coronavirus spread in the bar setting.”
Patrons “go to bars to get close and to drink and to socialize, and that’s the kind of thing that stokes the spread of the coronavirus,” Abbott added.
In Hidalgo County, Texas, officials Thursday imposed a curfew from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. for those 17 and under and 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. for those above 18. The county has also mandated face mask use in businesses and has encouraged residents to stay home when possible.
Since the pandemic began, Texas Health and Human Services has reported 137,624 cases of COVID-19 and 2,324 fatalities. Hidalgo County alone reported 179 new cases Saturday bringing total cases to 2,892 cases with 31 deaths. The number of new cases was down from 210 new cases in Hidalgo County Thursday.
On Friday, Abbott also ordered restaurants to limit dine-in service capacity to no more than 50 percent beginning Monday.
Along with Texas, at least nine other states have paused reopening phases, including Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Nevada, New Mexico and North Carolina.
In Florida, the announcement that bars would be shuttered did not come from Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office, but from Secretary of Department of Business and Professional Regulation Halsey Beshears in a tweet.
“Effective immediately, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is suspending on premises consumption of alcohol at bars statewide,” Beshears tweeted.
DeSantis was one of the last governors to institute a statewide stay-at-home order and the state began reopening businesses in May.
“Nothing has changed in the last week,” and the spike was because of a “test dump,” DeSantis told reporters Friday.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the testing line was cut off due to overwhelming response, the Florida Association of Public Information Officers tweeted at about 1:30 p.m. The Florida PIO Deployment Team said that it would keep processing those already in line until 5 p.m. and it would reopen Sunday.
Axios confirmed Saturday that President Donald Trump’s campaign has postponed Vice President Mike Pence’s visits to Arizona and Florida due to surge in infections in both states, NBC News first reported.
Arizona cases increased 3,591 cases since Friday, bringing total COVID-19 cases to 70,051 cases, and 1,579 deaths from COVID-19 have also been reported statewide.
In addition to Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Tennessee and Utah also reported their highest-ever daily caseloads Friday, with Florida beating its record again on Saturday.
In Idaho, Gov. Brad Little announced Thursday the state would remain in Stage 4 of reopening for at least the next two weeks, which advises face coverings, frequent washing of hands, staying home if sick and social distancing of at least six feet.
Furthermore, under a Central District Health order Ada County, Idaho, moved back to Stage 3, closing bars and limiting gatherings to 50 people. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean issued a similar order that also moves Boise back to Stage 3, closing bars and nightclubs.
Idaho has reported 5,149 cases and 91 deaths with 1,752 cases and 23 deaths in Ada County alone, according to a New York Times analysis.
Amid increasing cases in Utah, Gov. Gary Herbert said a member of his senior staff tested positive for COVID-19, and he would issue an executive order requiring people in state office buildings, including liquor stores, to wear masks at all times.
Herbert also ordered a two-week moratorium on request to alter current reopening guidelines, but said he would not stop the restart of the economy.
Utah “didn’t shut down the economy completely” at the start of the pandemic, and despite the spike “we’re not going to shut it down now,” Herbert said.
Utah has reported 20,218 COVID-19 cases and 166 deaths from the virus, according to the New York Times analysis.
In Georgia, bars and restaurants remain open.
Amid the spike in cases, Gov. Brian Kemp said Friday that he had no plans to impose new restrictions or require use of masks.
Georgia has reported 74,985 cases and 2,776 deaths from COVID-19, according to the state’s Department of Public Health.
In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee similarly said that he would not reimpose any restrictions to curb COVID-19 that were lifted to restart the economy after the single-day record Friday.
In Michigan, health officials recently linked 51 COVID-19 cases to Harper’s Restaurant and Brew Pub in East Lansing.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who faced protests after implementing stringent requirements to curb COVID-19, lifted a stay-at-home order earlier this month, allowing bars, restaurants and retail outlets to reopen.
Michigan has reported 69,679 cases and 6,153 deaths from COVID-19.
While New York still has the most cases, hospitalization and death rates have continued to decline.
New York has 396,669 cases and 31,105 deaths, the New York Times analysis of COVID-19 cases shows.
In California, COVID-19 cases are surging in Imperial County where the rate of testing positive is approaching 23 percent compared to 5.7 percent statewide, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned.
In response, Newsom advised leaders in Imperial County Friday to reimpose a stay-at-home order.
California has reported 208,397 cases and 5,873 deaths from the virus, according to New York Times analysis.
In New Jersey, COVID-19 transmission rate has increased in 16 of New Jersey’s 21 counties over the past week as the state moves ahead with reopening plans.
New Jersey has reported 172,727 cases and 14,948 deaths from COVID-19, according to the New York Times analysis.
Across the United States, COVID-19 has infected more than 2.4 million people and killed more than 125,000 people, according to Johns Hopkins University global tracker.
