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Agencies

The United States has surpassed 2.5 million coronavirus cases, as efforts to reopen the world’s economic powerhouse were dramatically set back by a surge of new infections in states such as Florida.
The US leads the world in Covid-19 cases by far, accounting for well over a third of the global total of nearly 10 million since the virus was first detected late last year in China.
On Saturday alone the US recorded more than 43,000 new cases, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. US deaths now exceed 125,000, approximately one-fourth the world total of over 495,000.
The tension between reopening battered economies - efforts pushed in the US by President Donald Trump - and public health is a source of debate in nearly every country.


The EU on Saturday pushed back a decision on a list of “safe countries” from which travellers can visit Europe - a list which could exclude the US.
The disease also continues to rampage through Latin America, with Peru surpassing 9,000 deaths in total on Saturday.
Brazil - the second hardest-hit country in the world after the US - recorded 990 deaths on Saturday, the highest in the world that day, while Mexico recorded the second highest, 719.
In Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has conceded there has been an “explosion” in new cases.
Resurgence of coronavirus cases threatens to swamp US hospitals
On Saturday the “Sunshine State” notched 9,585 cases in 24 hours, a new daily record.
The average age of people infected has dropped sharply - to 33 from 65 two months ago. Young people frustrated by months of confinement have poured back to the state’s beaches, boardwalks and bars, often without masks and seemingly unconcerned about social distancing.
Miami announced beaches will close over the July 4 holiday weekend. Bars are also closing.
Georgia, Nevada and South Carolina also reported new daily record cases on Saturday, while Arizona broke its record for hospitalisations.


With Trump struggling to lift his re-election bid off the ground ahead of November, the campaign confirmed that events featuring Vice-President Mike Pence in Arizona and Florida this week have been postponed “out of an abundance of caution”.
Meanwhile, Nevada on Saturday disclosed 1,099 new cases, double its previous record, while South Carolina and Georgia reported 1,604 and 1,990 new infections, respectively, also marking new daily highs.
The surge in cases has been most pronounced in a handful of Southern and Western states that reopened earlier and more aggressively, serving as a warning to the potentially illusory nature of any perceived progress in controlling the virus.
‘Anti-vax’ conspiracy theorists seize coronavirus moment to spread fake news
The worsening contagion in some parts of the United States has created a split-screen effect, with New York and its neighbouring Northeastern states, which were hit hardest initially, reporting declining cases and forging ahead with reopening plans.
Kami Kim, director of the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at the University of South Florida, said her state’s leaders claimed victory too soon after lockdowns were lifted starting in early May, while giving off conflicting messages on face coverings by not wearing masks themselves.
“It was just complete denial by a huge swath of the politicians,” she said, predicting that the state may need to shut down again. “Unfortunately, our community still isn’t taking it very seriously. People aren’t wearing masks.”

Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said on Saturday that his state would pause moving into the next stages of opening its economy as cases there rise.
In Texas, a state that was on the vanguard of letting people get back to work, Texas Governor Greg Abbott ordered bars across the state to close and required restaurants to limit indoor seating, acknowledging that in hindsight he had opened bars too soon.
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Despite skyrocketing case numbers, both Abbott and DeSantis have not bowed to pressure to issue statewide mandates on wearing masks, opting to leave that decision to local municipalities. Both Abbott and DeSantis are Republican, the same party as Trump.
Dr Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College in Houston, said he fears that daily cases in the Houston area could more than triple to 4,000 by mid-July, making it the main global hot spot by then.
“We need to implement more aggressive social distancing measures now,” the renowned vaccine scientist said.
At a briefing on Friday, DeSantis blamed the spike in infections on young people interacting more in the last few weeks, adding that they faced lower risk of dying than older people. Lending support to that view, Florida on Saturday reported 24 additional deaths, well off peaks in April when the elderly made up a larger proportion of cases.
Agence France-Presse and Reuters


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Coronavirus pandemic

US tops 2.5 million coronavirus cases as infections surge in Florida

Fun-hungry young adults in Florida have fuelled the rise in virus infections. Photo: AFP

MIAMI, FL - JUNE 08: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is seen during a press conference relating hurricane season updates at the Miami-Dade Emergency Operations Center on June 8, 2020 in Miami, Florida. NOAA has predicted that this year's Atlantic hurricane season will be more active than usual with up to 19 named storms and 6 major hurricanes possible. Eva Marie Uzcategui/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Resurgence of coronavirus cases threatens to swamp hospitals in Texas, Florida and other states

People wearing masks wait to enter the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida. Photo: EPA-EFE

Tubers prepare to float the Comal River despite the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, Thursday, June 25, 2020, in New Braunfels, Texas. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday that the state is facing a "massive outbreak" in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Test kits sit on a table as healthcare professional Kenzie Anderson prepares to take a sample at a United Memorial Medical Center COVID-19 testing site Friday, June 26, 2020, in Houston. The number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise across the state. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has said that the state is facing a "massive outbreak" in the coronavirus pandemic and that some new local restrictions may be needed to protect hospital space for new patients. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Coronavirus: Texas pauses reopening as new US cases climb to near record high

A security guard checks the temperature of a woman at a restaurant to test for Covid-19 on Thursday. Photo: AFP

Prometheus, a 1934 gilded cast bronze sculpture by Paul Manship, located at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan June 25, 2020 is seen wearing a facemask to promote Phase Two in New York City and to promote social distancing in the war against the spread of COVID-19. - The governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut on June 24, 2020 issued a travel advisory saying visitors from US states with accelerating COVID-19 infection rates must quarantine for 14 days. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION

Lab staff prepare samples for Covid-19 testing in Carrollton, Texas, on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

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Florida on Saturday reported 9,585 new infections in 24 hours, a record for a second day
Surge in cases has been most pronounced in a handful of southern and western states



Efforts to reopen the world’s economic powerhouse dramatically set back by a surge of new infections in some states.


US tops 2.5 million coronavirus cases as infections surge in Florida

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Florida on Saturday reported 9,585 new infections in 24 hours, a record for a second day Surge in cases has been most pronounced in a handful of southern and western states

Florida on Saturday reported 9,585 new infections in 24 hours, a record for a second day

Surge in cases has been most pronounced in a handful of southern and western states