COVID-19: Positivity rate up in Florida as U.S. tops 100K cases in single day

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - One of the biggest issues discussed on the campaign trail is the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The country is right in the middle of a new surge, setting a new grim, one-day record for new cases: more than 100,000. A majority of states are seeing an increase right now, including Florida, where the positivity rate has gone up.

Orange County health leaders say testing will remain a priority.

"Who knows if the numbers go high what else we have to do," said Dr. Raul Pino with Orange County.

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For the first time since the pandemic hit, the U.S. saw 100,000 coronavirus cases in a single day -- the highest single-day spike.

Health experts say there is another surge happening across the country and other places across the world are going back into lockdown.

In Orange County’s latest COVID-19 briefing, the county’s health officer, Dr. Raul Pino, says they have seen small increases in cases, adding nearly 300 more on Tuesday.

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"We understand the need to continue and advance in reopening the state, the county and the country, but these leaps of faith that we are taking by not wearing masks in large are the ones we are taking where we don’t want to be," he said. "Which is a high situation where political forces may have to make decisions that otherwise they don’t want to make.”

Health experts say they want the public to continue to be vigilant and follow CDC guidelines heading into the holiday to prevent the spread.