Florida becomes third state to reach 1 million coronavirus cases

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After 8,847 new cases were added on Tuesday, the state has now recorded 1,008,166 cases and 18,679 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Health. The only other states to have reported more than a million cases are Texas and California.

The dreaded milestone came the day after Governor Ron DeSantis held his first press conference in 26 days, doubling the opening of schools for in-person teaching in the spring.

“The closure of schools due to the coronavirus is the biggest public health blunder in modern American history,” DeSantis said, adding that the vast majority of parents in Florida have chosen to enroll their children in brick schools. and mortar.

He also mocked questions about mask warrants, saying similar policies have not stopped outbreaks in other states.

“I’m opposed to warrants, period. I don’t think they work,” he said.

Texas becomes first US state with more than a million Covid-19 infections

DeSantis last week extended an order banning municipalities from imposing fines for violating pandemic-related warrants, such as face masks or limiting restaurant capacity, without justification.

Local governments in hot spots could coordinate with the governor’s office to keep certain mandates in place, DeSantis said.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava took to Twitter after the governor extended the executive order.

“The country’s bipartisan governors are putting up masked orders as one of the best tools we have to fight # COVID19. It is deeply frustrating that @GovRonDeSantis continues to block local actions and make it harder for local leaders to keep our communities safe, ”Cava said.

The executive order was enacted in September, when DeSantis brought the state back to Phase 3, which freed up restaurants and bars to operate at 100% capacity.

In the week before the reopening, Florida reported more than 17,000 new cases. In the week leading up to Nov. 23, the state recorded more than 53,000 – which means three times as many Floridians testing positive that week as the week before the reopening.

DeSantis posted a video message last week sharing “some promising news” on therapies and vaccines but did not address the increase in cases in his condition.

CNN’s Rosa Flores, Denise Royal, Kay Jones, Melissa Alonso, Amanda Watts and Jamiel Lynch contributed to this report.

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