Coronavirus Watch: Florida leads the nation in COVID-19 hospitalizations

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Monday, August 2

Florida is leading the nation in per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19 days after the state recorded the most daily cases since the start of the pandemic last year.

More than 10,200 people in Florida are hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

The previous record was 10,170 hospitalizations in July 23, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations became widely available, according to the Florida Hospital Association.

It's Monday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know:

•	New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday workers in New York City's airports and public transit system will have to get coronavirus vaccinations or face weekly testing, expanding a policy already covering thousands of municipal employees. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also "strongly" recommended that vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors, but he declined to make masking mandatory.
•	The University of South Carolina and University of Minnesota are requiring students to wear masks indoors this fall. Some colleges will also require students to provide proof they received COVID-19 vaccines.
•	Americans' divide over masks and vaccines has perplexed sociologists, legal scholars, public health experts and philosophers, causing them to wonder: At what point should individual rights yield to the public interest?
•	The U.S. likely won't see the lockdowns that plagued the nation last year despite surging infections, but "things are going to get worse," Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Sunday.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has had more than 35 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and 613,200 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 198.5 million cases and 4.2 million deaths. More than 164.7 million Americans — 49.6% of the population — have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @NdeaYanceyBragg