Florida reported nearly 9,000 new coronavirus infections on Thursday — the highest single-day total of any state since mid-April

It was the highest single-day increase in COVID-19 infections reported by any US state since April 15.
The daily case total broke Florida's previous single-day record of 5,511 cases, which was reported Wednesday.
Coronavirus cases are spiking in at least 25 other states, particularly Arizona and Texas .Experts say the surge is because of reopenings, not increased testing.
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Florida reported a record-breaking number of new coronavirus cases on Friday: In the last 24 hours, 8,942 new infections were confirmed there, a nearly 8% increase in the state's total number of cases.

It was the biggest single-day coronavirus case surge any state has seen since April 15, when New York reported 11,571 cases.

Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation announced in a tweet on Friday that effective immediately, all consumption of alcohol at bars statewide was suspended .

florida bar drinking coronavirus Yana Paskova/Reuters

Florida's high single-day number shattered its previous record of 5,511 cases, reported on Wednesday. It brought Florida's case total to 122,960.

The state's surge is further evidence that the US's coronavirus outbreak is once again spiraling out of control. Nationwide, the US reported a record-breaking 39,327 new coronavirus cases on Thursday surpassing the country's previous single-day record (set just one day earlier) of 38,115 infections.

An exponentially growing outbreak

Florida's case total has more than doubled since June 1, when the state had 56,830 infections.

At the start of the month, the state's number of new daily cases was 726. It jumped to 1,355 cases on June 11, then 2,682 cases on June 18 increases that indicate Florida's outbreak is growing exponentially.

Florida and other states experiencing surges, like Arizona and Texas , have recently ramped up testing, which may partly explain why their case counts have gone up. But these states have also reported upticks in the share of coronavirus tests that come back positive, which indicates increased testing is not the primary reason for the rising numbers.

On Thursday, 13% of all coronavirus tests in Florida came back positive ; on Tuesday, it was nearly 16%. According to a report from Miami-Dade County , the proportion of positive COVID-19 tests went up by 0.8% each day between June 10 and 24.

In early June, the proportion of positive tests was about 5% in Miami-Dade County . That proportion rose to around 15% within the last two weeks.

coronavirus test florida David Santiago/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty

What's more, hospitalization rates are rising as well. According to state health officials, Florida's total hospitalizations rose 1.5% in the last 24 hours.

The number of people in Miami-Dade County needing hospitalization, intensive care, and ventilators has increased by 33%, 47%, and 26%, respectively, since June 15.

This surge may be because of eased lockdown restrictions

COVID-19 cases reported today are generally a reflection of the virus' spread two weeks ago , since the incubation period for the coronavirus is between one and 14 days and it can take a few days for test results to be reported.

More than half of US states have reported increases in their coronavirus case counts since June 18, which suggests that residents' actions in early June likely contributed to the surge.

Some public-health experts have attributed the escalating outbreaks to relaxed lockdown restrictions.

"The reason that we're seeing a spike in cases here in Houston is because of the decisions that our governor has made to open up the economy fairly aggressively," Dr. Cedric Dark, an emergency physician in Houston, previously told Business Insider .

Florida, which is in its second stage of re-opening, had been allowing restaurants, bars, movie theaters, concert venues, and other entertainment businesses to open at 50% capacity in most counties.

"More people are out and about," Mary Jo Trepka, an epidemiologist at Florida International University, told CNN . "That has most likely contributed to it."

florida reopen coronavirus Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images

As of last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis indicated he was more focused on testing than locking back down to control the state's outbreak.

"Florida is actively searching for COVID-positive individuals to provide immediate treatment and contact tracing to help prevent the broader spread of the disease," DeSantis' office said in a statement to Business Insider on June 16 . "This aggressive testing strategy is proving to be successful and will continue."

However, DeSantis told reporters on Thursday that the state was pausing its reopening plan .

"We are where we are," DeSantis said. "I didn't say we were going to go on to the next phase."

Aria Bendix contributed reporting to this story.

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