The nation may be opening up, but the coronavirus is far from slowing down. In fact, COVID-19 is on the rise.
There were 38,459 new cases of the virus reported nationwide on Thursday, a number that surpassed a record set the prior day of 38,115.
The upticks are the largest in two months, when 36,739 cases were reported April 24.
The records come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday that infections could be 10 times the 2.3 million that have been logged as states in the South and West see surges and either hit pause on reopening plans or implement new restrictions to slow the disease’s spread.
“We probably recognized about 10% of the outbreak,” CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said Thursday, adding that up to 8% of Americans may have been infected.
There were 5,996 new cases that day in Texas, a record since the onset of the pandemic. There was a record in deaths, too. Forty-seven people were reported to have died from the virus in the state, the most in more than a month.
A broad swath of Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Louisiana, Tennessee and South Carolina, have also seen a surge in cases and hospitalizations.
This week, Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, to require Floridians wear protective masks in public.
Similar moves have been announced in California, Nevada and Washington state.
“As positive cases surge and hospitalizations increase, it is imperative that you take data-driven action to help protect Floridians, our families, and our communities from the dangers of COVID-19,” members of the Florida delegation wrote in their letter.
DeSantis has so far resisted scaling back the reopening or issuing new mandates amid one of the most dramatic spikes in the nation.
On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reported an additional 5,004 new cases after 5,508 additional cases Wednesday — the highest number since the pandemic hit.
Like elsewhere, part of the increase can be attributed to more testing, but the rate of positive tests has also reached a record high.
Experts say that indicates the virus is spreading as more businesses reopen and more people resume social contact.
The virus is growing particularly fast in Miami-Dade, the state’s most populated county with 2.7 million residents.
