July 8 (UPI) — The United States has set a new one-day record for new COVID-19 cases — more than 60,000, surpassing the previous mark by several thousand.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University said 60,021 new cases were recorded Tuesday, just days after the previous national record of 54,500.
Updated figures by the university on Wednesday afternoon placed total U.S. cases at 3.01 million and the death toll at about 131,600.
More than three dozen states have shown increases over the past week and health officials say hospitalizations and patients in intensive care have also risen significantly.
In Florida, health officials reported Wednesday that hospitals in 14 of the state’s 44 counties were operating at at least 90 percent capacity.
Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, said it had just 38 ICU beds available and Miami-Dade County reported just 155.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, however, told reporters Tuesday state hospitals had “abundant capacity” to treat coronavirus patients.
Florida on Tuesday reported at least 5,000 new cases for the 14th straight day.
In California, San Francisco has indefinitely delayed reopening plans for outdoor bars and indoor restaurants.
Public Health Chief Grant Colfax warned that the surge of cases may eventually be too much for the city’s health system to handle.
“At this rate it could overwhelm the health care system and cause many deaths if we don’t get a handle on this right away,” Colfax told reporters. “I need San Franciscans to understand how serious and precarious this situation is.”
Although ICU capacity in California is about 30 percent, Colfax warned the situation “could change at any time.
“We know when this virus takes off, it takes off fast.”
Los Angeles County reported more than 4,000 new cases Tuesday, the highest daily figure in the Los Angeles metro area to date. Health officials said 46 people died and the county’s daily positivity rate rose to nearly 12 percent.
