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| - Florida reported a record daily coronavirus death toll of 173 on Thursday in the latest reflection of the COVID-19 surge in America. The state health department said there were 10,249 new cases for a total of 389,868 people infected and 5,518 fatalities. For nearly three weeks now Florida has been reporting more than 10,000 new cases a day. Other states in the south and west of the US are also seeing alarming increases as the country now regularly reports more than 60,000 new cases a day. A total of 82 percent of the new fatalities in this warm, sunny state popular with retirees were over age 65. And 46 percent lived or worked in nursing homes. Along with the sharp rise in cases have come long lines and waits for people who want to get tested for the virus. The health care system in Florida is so overburdened that people who get tested are having to wait five to 10 days for the results, a span during which they can continue to infect relatives and co-workers. "I don't think individuals understand that if you test, you're presumed positive. We say it, the CDC says it, but people are not listening," Eneida Roldan, CEO of Florida International University Health, told the Miami Herald. Despite the rise in cases, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has refused to make the wearing of masks mandatory, although some mayors have done so and set fines of $500 for those who refuse. lm/lda/jm
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