The World Health Organization reports 230,000 new coronavirus cases were reported across the globe on Sunday — the highest single-day total since the pandemic began. The United States reported 60,000 new infections on Saturday and 68,000 on Friday — the two highest totals to date. Florida recorded over 15,000 new coronavirus cases Sunday, setting a new single-day high for any state, but Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis continues to downplay the pandemic and has refused to impose a new lockdown or to order residents to wear face masks.
Deaths are also increasing in many states as the official U.S. death toll tops 135,000. At least eight states set new single-day records over the past week: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Tennessee. In Texas, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner proposed shutting down the state for two weeks as hospitalizations surge to record highs, but Texas Governor Greg Abbott has rejected such calls. On Saturday, President Trump was photographed wearing a mask in public for the first time since the pandemic began. Trump put on the mask during a visit to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.