U.S. sees 6th straight day with 60,000 new COVID-19 cases

July 21 (UPI) -- Another 60,400 COVID-19 cases were reported Tuesday in the United States -- the sixth consecutive day with at least 60,000, researchers say.

Experts at Johns Hopkins University said the rise in cases was recorded on Monday. To date, including the new figure, the United States has seen 3.832 million cases and 140,900 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Monday's cases included 10,300 in Florida, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak, officials said. The state has seen a total of more than 360,000 so far.

Fifty-three Florida hospitals are at maximum capacity in their intensive care units, officials said, an increase of four over the previous day.

The state's nursing home industry is asking for funds in Congress' next relief bill to "safeguard older adults and care workers."

"What our lawmakers do in the next weeks will determine the life and death of many of our nation's most vulnerable older adults," said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge, which represents more than 5,000 non-profit aging services organizations. "For months, we have been sending out a warning to the federal government that this crisis is not over. We need a major investment in real solutions now."

In California, Los Angeles County reported another record number of new hospitalizations. Gov. Gavin Newsom also gave the hair and personal care industry an exemption to operate outdoors.

In Washington, D.C., President Donald Trump said he will resume his coronavirus briefings, possibly on Tuesday.

Vice President Mike Pence, leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, is scheduled to visit South Carolina on Tuesday and will lead a roundtable discussion with Gov. Henry McMaster on the state's plan to reopen schools.

Meanwhile, the governors of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut updated their travel advisories to include 10 more states for a total of 31 whose residents are required to quarantine for 14 days after traveling to their states.

"As infection rates increase in 41 other states, our numbers continue to steadily decline, thanks to the hard work of New Yorkers," New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, adding Monday saw its fewest number of deaths to the coronavirus at two since the pandemic began.

The states also removed Minnesota from the mandatory quarantine order as it no longer met the criteria of having a positive rate higher than 10 per 100,000 residents or a minimum of a 10% positivity rate over a seven-day rolling average.

Nationally, South Carolina has seen the sixth-highest increase in new cases per 100 residents over the last week, according to the Harvard Global Health Institute.

The state saw 1,400 new cases Monday, and officials said nearly half of South Carolina's total caseload has been recorded in the last three weeks.