(nydailynews) – Florida shattered its daily coronavirus case record Wednesday by reporting 5,511 new infections across the Sunshine State.
The alarming overnight surge easily broke the previous record daily high of 4,049, set on Saturday.
A total of 109,014 people have tested positive in Florida since the pandemic began, resulting in 3,281 deaths, the Department of Health reported.
Health officials also reported 43 new deaths from COVID-19 since Tuesday morning.
The infection rate surge placed Florida in league with other hotspots including Texas and Arizona as New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced visitors from those three states and six others will be required to quarantine for up to two weeks upon arrival in New York.
The quarantine restrictions were also adopted by Connecticut and New Jersey.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis admitted Tuesday the upswing couldn’t be explained by the simple fact the state is testing more.
Speaking in Orlando, he said people getting tested are testing positive at a higher rate, so there’s “probably been an escalation in transmission over the last seven to 10 days.”
“Really, most of it is community transmission, particularly among the 20- and 30-year-old group. And I think part of that is just natural. You kinda go and you wanna be doing things, you want to be out and about,” he said.
“I think the folks that are a little older, who would be more vulnerable, have been a little bit more careful. So you’re just seeing more contact, and that’s why you’re seeing this,” he said.
He urged people to follow social distancing guidelines and stay away from bars and restaurants that are “packed to the rafters.”
“The virus isn’t gone,” he said.
In Orlando, 152 new cases were linked to one bar near the University of Central Florida campus, officials said.
“A lot of transmission happened there,” Dr. Raul Pino with the Florida Department of Health said this week, according to PBS NewsHour. “People are not wearing masks. People are drinking, shouting, dancing, sweating, kissing and hugging, all the things that happen in bars. And all those things that happen are not good for COVID-19.”