Florida closes bars amid surge in COVID-19 cases

Miami, June 27 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has ordered to close bars in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19 as the number of new infections shattered the state's record for the most coronavirus cases reported in a single day.

The Florida Department of Health on Friday reported 8,942 new COVID-19 cases, shattering the previous record of 5,511 set just two days ago, reports Xinhua news agency.

The state reported a 13.5 per cent positivity rate for new tests conducted, according to a news report from the clickorlando.com.

At a press conference on Friday, DeSantis said the order was issued because many people were disobeying the state's reopening guidelines.

"People weren't following it," the Governor said. "There was widespread non-compliance, and that led to issues. If folks just follow the guidelines, we're going to be in good shape. When you depart from that, then it becomes problematic."

With Friday's tally, Florida now has reported nearly 123,000 coronavirus case, with more than 32,000 of them confirmed in just the last seven days.

The move came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned the true number of Americans who have been infected could top 24 million.

On Wednesday, the US saw a record number of new coronavirus cases in a single day, with 45,557 reported, according to a tally by NBC News.

With 2,467,658 cases and 125,046 deaths, the US continues with the world's highest number of COVID-19 infections and fatalities.

( With inputs from IANS )