Florida, Texas and Arizona see record highs for new COVID-19 cases
One governor parrots the White House and attributes his state’s rise in numbers to an increase in testing
Three Republican-led states are seeing a record number of new COVID-19 cases since their reopening. Florida, Texas, and Arizona are all seeing record high increases.
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Three Republican-led states are seeing a record number of new COVID-19 cases since their reopening. Florida, Texas, and Arizona are all seeing record high increases.
Florida recorded 2,610 new cases Wednesday —just below Tuesday’s record of 2,783 — and the death toll rose from 2,993 to 3,018.
Yet, Governor Ron DeSantis said he has no plans of another state shutdown.
“No, we’re not shutting down, you know, we’re going to go forward,” DeSantis said, “You have to have society function.”
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“Florida is actively searching for COVID-positive individuals to provide immediate treatment and contact tracing to help prevent the broader spread of the disease,” a spokesperson from the governor’s office told ABC News. “This is evident in the 30 state-operated testing sites throughout Florida that include areas with vulnerable and/or underserved communities. This aggressive testing strategy is proving to be successful and will continue.”
Miami Mayor, Francis Suarez, said the city will not move into the next phase of reopening due to coronavirus concerns.
Texas governor, Greg Abbott, attributed his state’s rise in numbers to an increase in testing. The state has seen an 85% increase in cases including an additional 1,476 prison inmates. Abbott has said that the state is better prepared for COVID-19 cases than in the early months of the pandemic.
In Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey is urging citizens to wear face coverings but refuses to issue a state mandate of the practice. He, too, has stated that the increased numbers could be due to an increase in testing. An idea that has been refuted by medical practitioners in the state, and Democratic leaders.
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The state has reported over 1,800 new cases.
State representative Kelli Butler, a Democrat, accused Ducey of “spending more time trying to deflect criticism and spar with health experts and reporters than work on actual solutions to mitigate the spread of disease,” Butler said. “With President Donald Trump scheduled to visit Arizona next week, I do wonder if the governor is doing more right now to please Trump than keep Arizonans safe.”
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