Florida has become the second US state to confirm a half-million coronavirus cases, while New York City is trying to keep the virus from flaring up again by setting up checkpoints to ensure that travellers from places with high numbers of cases comply with quarantine rules.
The rising cases in Florida underline the ferocity with which the latest wave of infections has hit the southern and western parts of the country, touching off fears of similar spikes in other parts of the US — including some that have already grappled with devastating outbreaks, like New York.
Over the past 24 hours, 5,409 people in Florida tested positive for Covid-19, the state’s health department revealed on Wednesday, taking the total number of cases in the state to 502,739. The Sunshine State’s case tally is second only to California, which had confirmed 519,427 cases as of Tuesday.