The U.S. state of Florida set a new record, reporting over 15,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in one day Sunday.

The number by far beat previous records of single-day increases in a U.S. state. The previous record was seen in California on Wednesday when the state recorded 11,694 new cases.

Florida now has nearly 270,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and has seen 4,346 deaths. The state had eased lockdown restrictions in recent weeks, including theme park Disney World opening its doors to guests in masks Saturday, despite recommendations by health experts to avoid gathering in crowds.

There are now more than 12.7 million COVID-19 infections around the world, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, with more than a half million deaths. 

The U.S. has roughly one-fourth of the world’s infections at 3.2 million and more than 134,000 deaths. 

On the day the U.S. reported a record 66,528 new cases, President Donald Trump was seen wearing a mask for first time Saturday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the outskirts of Washington. 

Source: VOA news