US sunbelt states see record rises in Covid-19 fatalities

Trump claims the spike in cases is from increased testing, but that can't explain the increase in deaths and hospitalizations.

https://www.ft.com/content/efa4d9b0-db04-48d8-b37c-2ffca08bd9a9

Matthew Rocco and Peter Wells
Financial Times
July 9, 2020


The three most populous states in the US sunbelt have recorded their largest single-day increases in coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic, an alarming indication that the latest outbreak could lead to another surge in fatalities.

The 120 deaths reported by Florida on Thursday was more than double the 48 recorded the day before and California recorded 149 fatalities, up from 119 on Wednesday. Texas had 105, the third day in a row of a record-setting increase.


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But nationwide, coronavirus-related deaths have risen to more than 800 a day for the past three days after averaging fewer than 500 per day last week. On Thursday, there were 867 fatalities nationwide, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The total number of infections in the US increased by 58,836 cases, the second-largest one-day increase on record.


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