(Reuters) – Florida, one of the critical points of U.S. coronavirus, reported Friday that another record of deaths by COVID-19 accumulated, as the country’s top infectious disease experts have avoided partisan disputes at a congressional hearing over a national pandemic strategy.
The state Department of Health said Florida recorded 257 deaths, a record for the fourth day in a row despite predictions that the epicenter of U.S. coronavirus could move to the Midwest.
In numerical terms, the loss of a day’s life in Florida is roughly equivalent to the number of passengers on an aisle plane.
Florida also reported 9,007 new instances, bringing the total number of infections to more than 470,000, the time in the country after California. Florida is one of at least 18 states that saw more than twice as many cases in July, when only about 25,000 people in the United States died from COVID-19.
“I don’t feel safe. I feel like I’m fighting an invisible enemy,” said Zinnia Santiago, 50, an executive assistant who lives in Coral Springs, Florida.
Santiago stated that she was immunocompromised and did not feel safe enough, even to perform mandatory monthly blood tests to make sure the drugs did not affect her organs. He rarely ventures outdoors unless he walks his dog, but has recently driven to the beach.
“There were other people there walking without a mask, even though they demanded a mask and fined cops,” Santiago told Reuters. “Florida is in a very bad position right now.”
In addition to the state’s problems, a coup on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for coastal counties with Hurricane Isaias expected to arrive Friday night, a progression that has led to the widespread closure of COVID-19 sites.
Nationwide, coronavirus deaths are spreading at their fastest pace since early June and one user in the United States died for every minute of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the day with the largest accumulation of deaths so far in the week.
In Washington, Anthony Fauci, the leading infectious disease expert at the National Institutes of Health, evaded efforts by a staunch best friend of President Donald Trump’s to criticize him for protesting racial injustice in the pandemic.
Fauci confronted Rep. Jim Jordan at a hearing by the U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on the coronavirus after the Ohio Republican asked him if the protests deserve to be held back or eliminated to control the coronavirus.
“Should we restrict protests?” Jordan asked. When Fauci stated that he was not in a position to make such a recommendation, the legislator replied: “You make all kinds of recommendations. Talk about games, baseball and everything you can imagine.”
“I’m not for Array, ” replied Fauci. “I’m not going to decide to restrict anything … I’m telling you what the danger is, and you can draw your own conclusion about that. You have to stay away from the crowds, no matter where the crowds are.”
Fauci also rejected Democrats for criticizing him for the current state of the COVID-19 tests.
He has sent questions from Democratic lawmakers about the evidence to witnesses most directly interested in this effort. Fauci made headlines in March, describing U.S. testing efforts. Like a failure.
Trump, who gave the impression of watching the audience, weighed on Twitter as opposed to his Democratic critics: “Our great ability to verify, instead of being praised, is being used through Lamestream Media and its partner, the radical left Democrats does nothing, as a point of contempt. This control, and what we did so fast, is used as a Fake News weapon. Sad! “
The epicenter of COVID-19 in the United States is a symptom of moving into the Midwest after ravaging the states of New York and the Sunbelt.
On Friday, an order came into effect to Chicago, which required others who visited or came from neighboring Wisconsin to be quarantined for 14 days. Wisconsin joined 21 other states that experienced an accumulation in the number of new instances and were placed on the Chicago quarantine list.
Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health, said in a Twitter video that travelers are exempt but will have to restrict their activities, avoid public spaces, and wear a face mask. If other people break the order, they face fines of up to $500 a day, the city said.
The COVID-19 outbreak “is not in good control” in Wisconsin, she said.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker warned that if the number of coronaviruses worsens, the bars would likely have to close in some places, according to media reports.
Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said Thursday that Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska were in danger “due to vacation and other reasons.”
Reporting through Lisa Shumaker and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago, Maria Caspani in New York and David Morgan in Washington; Written through Alistair Bell; Editing through Daniel Wallis
All quotes were delayed for at least 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of operations and delays.
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