US Sets One-day High With 68K New Virus Cases on Friday

More than 68,000 new coronavirus cases were reported on Friday in the United States, which broke the country’s record for a third consecutive day, according to Reuters.

Utah, Georgia, Montana, North Carolina, Iowa, and Ohio all hit new highs in coronavirus cases Friday.

Georgia began reopening before any other state. Now, it has reported 4,904 new cases on Friday, breaking its record from July 2 of 2,886.

Atlanta Democratic Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week. She mandated mask-wearing in public Wednesday and has suggested the city may dial back to phase one measures if coronavirus cases continue to climb.

Texas reported 9,923 new cases Friday, a day after hitting a record of nearly 11,000 new cases Thursday. In response to the outbreak, GOP Gov. Greg Abbott has closed all bars again and required all Texans to wear masks in public. He also cautioned that more restrictions could be on the way when things “get worse.”

“This was a very tough decision for me to make,” Abbott said during a TV interview. “I made clear that I made this tough decision for one reason: It was our last best effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. If we do not slow the spread of COVID-19 . . . the next step would have to be a lockdown.”

Florida, which has seen its cases surge since the state reopened, almost broke its all-time record from July 4, with 11,433 new coronavirus cases Friday. But GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis contends the state will not go through another shutdown.

“We’re open,” DeSantis said in late June. “We know who we need to protect most of the folks in those younger demographics, although we want them to be mindful of what’s going on, are just simply much much less at risk than the folks who are in those older age groups.”