‘ALL-TIME HIGH’

Texas Suffers Its Worst Day for New Coronavirus Infections With 5,400 Cases

Texas surpassed 5,000 new daily cases for the first time, with similar spikes in California, Nevada, and Arizona.

Several states are experiencing deeply worrying new spikes in novel coronavirus cases—with Texas surpassing 5,000 new cases in one day for the first time since the pandemic reached the United States. NPR reported that the Texas Department of State Health Services recorded 5,489 new cases Tuesday, forcing Gov. Greg Abbott to urge people to keep taking the virus seriously—despite the ongoing slackening of lockdown measures. “The hospitalization rate is at an all-time high,” he said. “The coronavirus is serious. It’s spreading in Brazos County, across the entire state of Texas.” He called the new spike a “massive outbreak” in interviews the same day and said he might institute unspecified localized restrictions.

Elsewhere, California saw some of its highest numbers of new coronavirus cases Tuesday, spiking to over 6,000 new cases in a 24-hour period for the second consecutive day. The jump in cases comes as the state reopens restaurants, bars, and gyms. In Nevada, the state reported its biggest one-day increase with 462 new confirmed cases reported Tuesday—it’s been about two weeks since Las Vegas reopened the doors to its casinos. Arizona also posted its highest ever new case figure, with more than 3,500 infections logged on the day of President Trump’s visit to the state.