US coronavirus cases hit new one-day high as states backtrack on reopening

Experts say there’s evidence Covid-19 is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalizations in parts of the US

Joanna Walters in New York, Joan E Greve in Washington and agencies

The number of confirmed new coronavirus cases per day in the US hit an all-time high of 40,000 according to figures released by Johns Hopkins on Friday, eclipsing the mark first set during one of the deadliest stretches in late April. It’s a resurgence that has led some governors to backtrack or at least pause the reopening of their states.

The news came as the governor of Texas ordered the closing of all bars again and scaled back restaurant dining, in the biggest retreat yet by any state after business reopening.

The move was quickly followed by Florida also announcing bars immediately have to stop serving alcohol.

Halsey Beshears, the head of Florida’s department of business and professional regulatinon, said the policy would be in effect “immediately.”

The announcement came less than an hour after the Florida department of health reported that the state confirmed 8,942 new cases of coronavirus yesterday, breaking a record set earlier this week.

The Florida health department also reported a frightening rise in the rate of positive test results. On Thursday, 13.1% of test results come back positive, compared to 8.9% on Wednesday, confounding Donald Trump’s recent assertions, repeated on Thursday, that “if you did not do testing, you would not have cases”.

On Thursday, Texas had paused its reopening process and was swiftly followed by Arizona, as both states saw a surge of new infections. Florida and California are also seeing record increases.

While the national increase is believed to reflect, in part, greatly expanded testing, experts say there is ample evidence the virus is making a comeback, including rising deaths and hospitalizations in parts of the country, especially in the south and west.

The number of confirmed infections soared past the previous high set on 24 Aprilof 36,400, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University.

Deaths from the coronavirus in the US are down to around 600 per day, compared with about 2,200 in mid-April.