3 states report record-breaking 1-day increases in coronavirus cases
Arizona, Florida and Texas all saw record-breaking one-day increases in new coronavirus cases Tuesday.
Arizona reported a daily high of nearly 2,400 new coronavirus infections for a total of more than 39,000, while in Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott insisted the state's health care system could handle the fast-rising number of new cases and hospitalizations.
Tuesday marked the eighth time in nine days that Texas set a new high for COVID-19 hospitalizations at 2,518. State health officials reported 2,622 new cases.
"It does raise concerns, but there is no reason right now to be alarmed," Abbott said.
Texas began aggressively reopening its economy May 1. Abbott noted that Texans may have become lax in wearing masks or practicing social distancing and urged people to stay home as much as possible.
They are among 20 states and Puerto Rico to see the number of newly reported cases grow over the past two weeks.
VIDEO: Florida woman, 15 friends contract COVID-19 after eating at Florida restaurant
Canada and the U.S. extended to July 21 a deal to keep their border closed to nonessential travel, with many Canadians fearing cases arriving from the U.S.
As the U.S. struggles with the first wave of the virus, other countries where it was widely thought to be under control faced disturbing developments.
China raised its emergency warning to its second-highest level and canceled more than 60% of the flights into Beijing amid a new coronavirus outbreak in the capital. It was a sharp pullback for the nation that declared victory over COVID-19 in March and a message to the rest of the world about how tenacious the virus really is.
New infections also spiked in India and Iran, and New Zealand is dealing with two new cases not long after declaring itself virus-free.
Since the virus emerged in China late last year and spread worldwide, there have been more than 8.1 million confirmed cases and at least 443,000 deaths, according to a tally kept by Johns Hopkins University. Experts say the true toll is much higher, due to the many who died without being tested and other factors.
The U.S. has the most infections and deaths in the world, with a toll that neared 117,000 on Wednesday, surpassing the number of Americans who died in World War I.
