Florida reported more than 2,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus on both Saturday and Sunday, the state's highest numbers recorded amid the ongoing pandemic, as the southern state's positive test rate has also risen over the past week.
On Saturday, Florida reported a new record of 2,581 confirmed cases of the novel virus in the previous 24 hours. The former record had been recorded on Friday and was 1,902 new cases. Although the number of new cases on Sunday was lower than Saturday, with 2,016 reported, that was still the second-highest single-day increase recorded during the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the positive test rate in the southern state has been on the rise over the past week, suggesting the virus is spreading more rapidly. On June 7, the positive test rate stood at 4.24 percent. As of Monday morning, Florida's official COVID-19 dashboard said the positive test rate was now more than 1 percent higher, at 5.4 percent.
Newsweek reached out to the Florida Department of Health and the communications office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican, for comment, but they did not respond by the time of publication.
In total, Florida has now reported more than 75,500 confirmed cases of the novel virus, nearly 12,000 hospitalizations and more than 2,900 deaths due to COVID-19. The state has conducted more than 1.4 million tests, with more than 1.3 million showing negative results.
Public health experts are eyeing Florida along with several other states – including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, North Carolina, Oklahoma and South Carolina – which have all recorded their highest single-day increases in new infections over the past few days. While significantly expanded testing is expected to lead to a higher number of asymptomatic or minor cases of the virus being detected, several of these states have also seen an uptick in hospitalizations related to COVID-19.
The U.S. overall continues to see a relatively steady number of new daily cases and deaths, even as the virus' original epicenters in the country see their numbers decline as they emerge from lockdown. The trend of new reported cases across the country has remained between 18,000 and 29,000 throughout June. On Friday and Saturday, the U.S. reported more than 25,000 new cases each day. However, the trend of deaths appears to be slowly moving downward.
Despite the concern of health experts, all 50 states continue to ease stay-at-home restrictions as people nationwide return to a semblance of normalcy after months of stringent lockdowns. As of Monday morning, the U.S. had confirmed a total of more than 2 million infections and more than 115,000 deaths. The U.S. continues to be the country in the world with the highest number of infections and deaths due to the virus.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jason Lemon is a Weekend Editor at Newsweek based in Brooklyn, New York. Prior to taking on the editor role, Jason's reporting focused on U.S. politics and international affairs. He joined Newsweek in 2018, and had previously worked as a founding editor at a Middle Eastern media startup called StepFeed. He also worked a year as a contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has bylines in The Christian Science Monitor, The Palm Beach Post, Al Fanar Media and A Magazine. He is a graduate of the American University of Beirut in Lebanon and Andrews University in Michigan. You can get in touch with Jason by emailing j.lemon@newsweek.com. Languages: English, Spanish, French and Levantine Arabic
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