After nearly a week of new highs in the number of daily reported cases reported, the United States topped 50,000 new cases for the first time today, driven by outbreaks in Texas, Florida, California and Arizona.
On the day the country surpassed this milestone, President Trump again repeated his belief that the virus will somehow miraculously disappear. “And I think we’re going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that at some point that’s going to sort of just disappear,” he told a Fox Business interviewer.
Eleven states now have more than 10,000 coronavirus cases per 1 million residents, with Nebraska, Mississippi and Iowa poised to break that barrier in the coming week.
States’ responses to the rising case numbers vary, with some states instituting measures they had previously ignored. Kansas will require all people to wear masks in public spaces as of July 3rd. Florida closed bars statewide last week. Texas reconsidered its decision to reopen bars, and it will now require gatherings of 100 people or more to get permits from local governments.