Florida shattered records for any state's single-day recording of new coronavirus cases Sunday, announcing almost 15,300 new cases.
The state added 15,299 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, to its constantly rising total, outpacing New York's previous daily record by more than 3,000.
Florida now has more than 269,000 total cases of the coronavirus, according to the state Health Department.
The U.S. reported another record Friday, surpassing 70,000 new cases for the first time, and the World Health Organization announced a record increase in new cases around the world Sunday, at 230,370. The U.S., Brazil, India and South Africa had the largest spikes.
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Hospitalizations are also increasing in Florida, with more than 18,000 people seeking treatment, the Health Department said.
"There was no justification to not move forward" with the state's reopening in May, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Friday, according to NBC Miami. "We have a situation where you've got a lot of beds available. No major system, nobody that we've seen yet, has even gone to the surge level," he said.
Disney World also reopened parts of its Orlando park over the weekend, despite the sharp rise in cases across the state.
The state does not have a mandate to wear masks, as DeSantis insists it should remain up to localities to decide what to do.
In New York City, once the center of the pandemic, no coronavirus deaths were announced Sunday, the first time it has reported no deaths since the first death was recorded March 11.
