Coronavirus Live Updates: U.S. Reports Record Number Of New Cases In 1 Day

Asked by a Georgetown student about depoliticizing conversations around the outbreak, Fauci urged her to not “get involved in any of the political nonsense.” 

“It’s a waste of time and a distraction,” he said, stressing that the virus cares not what your party affiliation is.

“The best thing you could do is protect yourself and fortify your colleagues in their attempts to protect themselves from getting infected,” he said.

— Dominique Mosbergen

Florida Reports 132 New Deaths, Breaking State’s Single-Day Record — 7/14/2020, 11:35 a.m. ET

Florida reported 132 new coronavirus-linked deaths on Tuesday, setting a grim new record of single-day COVID-19 deaths in the state. The previous high of 120 was set on July 9, according to Treasure Coast Newspapers.

The Florida Health Department added 9,194 coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 291,629.

Florida has the third highest number of known infections of all 50 states, behind only New York and California, according to The New York Times.

Florida, one of the earliest states to reopen amid the pandemic, has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks. Roughly 4 million people who are 65 or older —a population that is particularly vulnerable to the virus — live in Florida. 

― Hayley Miller

Louisiana AG Tests Positive For Coronavirus Ahead Of Pence Visit — 7/14/20, 11:25 a.m. ET

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry is quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19 and will not be able to greet Vice President Mike Pence when he arrives for his visit Tuesday.

“Out of an overabundance of caution with the Vice President coming to our state, I was tested for Cornavirus,” Landry wrote in an email obtained by local newspaper The Advocate. “Though experiencing no symptoms, I tested positive for COVID-19.”

Landry said he was taking unspecified medications.

Pence is scheduled to speak with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) and his health care team, as well as with higher education leaders, to discuss reopening schools and fall sports.

Last week, the conservative attorney general urged Louisiana schools to reopen in the fall without a mask mandate, arguing that it “creates a situation that may cross the line on liberty.” Edwards has ordered everyone in the state to wear masks in public and closed bars over the weekend in response to rising case numbers.

— Sara Boboltz