July 29 (UPI) — For the second day in a row, Florida has set a single-day record for COVID-19 deaths, health officials said on Wednesday.
The Florida Department of Health said 216 patients died on Tuesday, topping the mark of 186 set a day earlier. The state also saw 9,400 new cases. Tuesday was also the first time Florida’s toll has been above 200.
JetBlue Airways, which has a hub in Fort Lauderdale, said two of its employees have died from the coronavirus disease. The carrier has now lost eight workers to the outbreak.
Nationwide, there have been 4.375 million COVID-19 cases and 149,700 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to updated figures Wednesday from researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
More than 1,100 patients died on Tuesday, the seventh day of the last eight with at least 1,000 deaths, according to the COVID Tracking Project.
Another 61,700 cases were reported nationwide Tuesday.
Ten states saw a record-high for average daily deaths on Tuesday, including California, Florida, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi and South Carolina.
In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday the city’s positivity rate rose slightly to 2% — up from a record-low 1%.
De Blasio urged New Yorkers to make sure they’re registered to vote in presidential election and voiced support for a lawsuit that seeks to extend the registration deadline to a later date in October or November.
“We need to make it simpler than ever to vote.”
In South Carolina, officials said the state fair has been changed to a free drive-through version that will span two days.
“In the midst of the worst global crisis of our lifetime, we wanted to give the community something positive to look forward to,” South Carolina State Fair General Manager Nancy Smith said.
