Florida cases spike: 10,000 in one day
Florida has reported 10,000 new confirmed coronavirus cases for the first time.
That daily number on Thursday is six times higher than the daily record less than a month ago. The state also reported 67 deaths for the second time in a week.
The sevenday average for daily deaths is now back over 40, a 30% increase from two weeks ago. The state’s death rate peaked at 60 per day in early May and declined to 30 by midJune.
SOUTH CAROLINA Virus spike besets hospitals
South Carolina’s top infectious disease expert said the state’s spike in COVID19 cases is overwhelming the ability of health workers to track infected people. Contact tracing is a critical part of slowing the virus and quickly isolating people who may be infected, so the inability to investigate cases could mean the virus keeps spreading quickly, state epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said. South Carolina has reported more than 1,000 newly diagnosed cases in 11 of the past 13 days.
NEW JERSEY Atlantic City casinos reopen
Eager to hit the slot machines and table games after a 108day absence, gamblers wore face masks and did without smoking and drinking Thursday as Atlantic
City’s casinos reopened amid the coronavirus pandemic that has drastically changed things both inside and outside the casino walls.
MICHIGAN No indoor bars, cocktails to go
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said she was closing indoor seating in bars in parts of the state, including a college town where one brewpub has been linked to about 140 infections. Whitmer also signed a bill allowing bars and restaurants to sell togo cocktails in an effort to help those businesses.
ALABAMA Students threw virus parties
Several college students in an Alabama city organized “COVID19 parties” as a contest to see who would get the virus first, officials said.
Tuscaloosa City Councilor Sonya McKinstry said students hosted the parties to intentionally infect each other. She said the students put money in a pot and whoever got COVID first would get the cash. Tuscaloosa is home to the University of Alabama and several other colleges.
TEXAS Governor reverses course
Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday ordered all Texans to wear face coverings in public, with a limited number of exceptions, a sharp reversal that underscored the severity of the coronavirus outbreak that has surged out of control in Texas. The Republican governor has increasingly cited face masks as a key step in keeping the virus at bay, but he had repeatedly stopped short of requiring their use until Thursday’s order.