Florida Becomes New US Epicenter as New Cases Surge: Forbes

The U.S. state of Florida is becoming the new epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country as new cases have been surging recently, said Forbes on Sunday.

The Sunshine State recorded 21,683 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, breaking its previous one-day record of 19,100 new cases, which was set in early January, said Forbes.

According to the weekly report from the state's health department, Florida reported 110,477 new cases from July 23 to 29, which is about a 50 percent increase from the 73,196 cases in the week before.

However, Florida is "not taking all the steps needed to control the spread of the virus," said Forbes, noting that the state government is only reporting new cases weekly rather than daily.

Meanwhile, the state is not urging its people to take necessary measures such as keeping social distance and wearing masks. Governor Ron DeSantis on Saturday even asked the health and education department to "protect parents' freedom to choose whether their children wear masks in schools" on Twitter.