Florida COVID-19
Getty Images Octavio Jones Getty Images Octavio Jones

Florida has reached the highest single-day recording of new coronavirus cases in any state with 15, 299 new cases on Sunday.

This record outranked New York with its previous daily record by over 3,000.

The State Health Department said Florida now has around 269,000 total cases of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

According to Florida's Health Department, hospitalization in Florida is also increasing, with over 18,000 people seeking treatment.

State governor Ron DeSantis said on Friday that there is no other explanation not to move forward.

"We have a situation where you've got a lot of beds available. No major system, nobody that we've seen yet, has even gone to the surge level," he was quoted in an NBC News report.

Disney World Reopening

Despite the surge in new coronavirus cases, Disney World reopened to the public on Saturday.

The two other parks, Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, are expected to open on Wednesday.

However, park goers will have to get used to a few changes before enjoying the park again.

"From increased cleaning and disinfecting across our parks and resorts to updated health and safety policies, we have reimagined the Disney experience to enjoy the magic responsibly," Disney Parks Chief Medical Officer Dr. Pamela Hymel was quoted in a report.

Some of these changes include making reservations to limit the number of people in the park each day, face masks requirement for anyone above the age of 2, and temperature checks.

There are also some changes inside the park. Physical barriers are put into places where distancing is not possible.

Wait times also decreased with rides that used to have one to two hours waiting time.

Tom Corless, who runs a fansite dedicated to both Disney's Florida, said that safety measures put in place seemed to be working.

"I don't think people had a hard time keeping space from each other," Corless was quoted.

However, social media users have different opinions.

Social media users have advised people to stay home.

One user said the reopening during COVID-19 surges is "sketchy."

"Having people who have COVID but are asymptomatic would bring The Thing levels of distrust," Twitter user WheresJowaldo tweeted.

Florida's Economy

South Florida depends on tourism for its economic activities. But due to COVID-19, some executives do not see a recovery until two years from now.

Three counties in South Florida have lost jobs in hotels, restaurants, and leisure-oriented businesses. Broward County was hugely affected.

Unemployment reached 16-percent in Broward in May. Palm Beach County at 14.1-percent, and Miami-Dade at 11.3-percent.

Many businesses, mostly tourism-dependent, say they will not be able to recall workers as soon as possible due to COVID-19.

When he campaigned for mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Dean Trantalis hoped to diversify the city's economy.

Trantalis said tourism could be disrupted due to storms and economic downturns.

Trantalis said he advocates for more opportunities with different talents as it would allow Florida to be less dependent on tourism.

Trantalis said the mayor had made efforts to increase its base in technology and financial services industries.

"I think the economy probably would have been worse if we hadn't made these strides," he said.

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