nbc's kerry sanders joins us now from ft. lauderdale, kerry? >> reporter: nicolle, when you talk about the state becoming the epicenter, an epicenter within that and that's south florida, miami-dade county, broward county, concentrated most of these cases and as we look at the most recent numbers we see here, 10,085 positive tests in today's numbers releaseds following the 9,261, bot 2078 line, the numbers are moving in the wrong direction here and many dade county, miami-dade county, the positive results coming back are at 28% and that's far above what they're searching for they're looking for a positive result of about 10% and so, the problem is clearly not under control, the authorities are doing just about anything they can telling people not only to social distance and to wear masks but telling restaurants to close. in miami-dade a curfew at 10:00 p.m. but at this point and as we seen over and over around the world there's lag effect from the regulations and rules that go into place and whether they're effective or not. the authorities her

kerry sanders joins us now from miami gardens, florida. kerry, we're talking about 109% increase in cases this week in florida. now we're seeing people really not to get tested. >> reporter: there's a lot of anxiety out there, probably for good reason. sticks show one in ten in miami-dade county tested are coming back with positive tests. let me give you a snapshot of where i am right now, to give you an idea how many people are gathered here to get tests. these cars started lining up at 2:00 a.m. they have been inching along since the doors open here to begin tests at 8:00 this morning. folks coming here, all different ages. that's important, when you consider there are now some younger people who are testing positive. for instance, molly dawson. she's an icu nurse working at her hospital in bolling green and within one day had to be flown to a bigger hospital to be attended to in nashville. her mother has rushed to her side now, but unfortunately she can't be at her side. all she can do is get an occasional facetime in with her daughter.

set to get their voting rights back but now the supreme court dealing them a major blow nbc's kerry sanders explains. >> reporter: for the first time critical battleground florida with more than a million potential new voters, convicted felons, like 54-year-old judy bolden who lost her voting rights after she was convicted for drug trafficking now free she plans to vote for the first time in her life. >> it made me feel worthless, like i wasn't even a citizen of the united states. >> because you could not vote >> because i couldn't vote my voice couldn't be heard. >> and now >> and now i feel vindicated. >> reporter: but not so fast says florida governor ron desantis. >> those are the things being litigated. >> reporter: he challenged a state constitutional amendment approved by florida voters two years ago that restored voting rights to felons who complete all terms of their sentence, except for felons who committed murder or sexual battery. the governor says all terms means just that. >> if you were robbed and someone's convicted of taking, you know, $3,000 out of your house and they were

our kerry sanders has more on its message to teachers about in-person learning this fall >> reporter: tonight schools testing out safety systems >> please wear a mask. >> reporter: as pressure mounts the nation's second largest teachers union today authorizing its 1.7 million members to strike in districts and states where certain safety standards are not met. >> do i want to get back into school absolutely but we need to be able to do that in a safe environment. >> reporter: a pilot summer school program under way at wesley elementary school in middletown, connecticut appears hopeful but with concessions few if any schools nationwide will be able to replicate. >> i only have four kids in my class right now. it is very manageable. >> reporter: but managing kids and exposure to coronavirus at school, untested >> it's just something that is always going to be in my mind, am i really putting him at such a high risk now, putting him back in school >> reporter: in middletown partitions, outdoor classrooms, and masks required while south dakota's governor today encouraging schools to open w

deadly virus continuing to spread as health officials urged caution while trying to ease fears kerry sanders, nbc news >> reporter: i'm miguel almaguer. tonight across the nation health care workers are sounding the alarm once again. >> our hospitals are overwhelmed. we have seven hospitals that are at maximum capacity right now in miami-dade alone. >> reporter: with hundreds of americans dying every day from covid complications -- >> we see a lot of patients and they're both young and old that are getting very sick. >> reporter: the surge in cases is flooding hospitals and hot spots like phoenix. >> we're at over 100% capacity if that's possible but every place is a potential bed. we have a person >> reporter: in arizona, nearly one in five are testing positive for the virus. in texas, where the death toll is climbing, the scene is just as grim. >> warehouses of people, on life support machines, it's dire when you're counting how many ventilators you have left, two left, six left that's dire. >> reporter: their warnings reminiscent of those we heard from doctors and nurses in new york month

some teachers have already made up their minds and are now leaving the profession they love kerry sandersore on their difficult decision. [ chanting ] >> reporter: across the country, some parents may demand schools reopen, but some teachers have decided going back to the classroom is a risk they are not willing to take. >> for me it's a matter of life and death. >> reporter: miami elementary school teach petrinja dozier-washington has underlying medical conditions including asthma. coronavirus just forced an abrupt end to her career. >> how difficult has this decision been? >> i've been teaching for 38 years, and the decision to just not return at all was very difficult for me, because i've been committed to teaching since i decided to go into the profession. >> reporter: a recent poll found one in five teachers say they are unlikely to go back to the classroom fearing they will get sick. nine out of ten are worried about enforcing social distancing. >> kids are kids kids are going to do what kids do they are messy by nature they are social by nature. keeping them 6 feet >> reporter: sec

kerry sanders has more >> reporter: tonight, scenes like these on some of florida's beaches over theoliday weekend worrying health officials, with 44 hospitals here now reaching icu capacity. north side hospital in st. petersburg among them is florida headed in that same overload that new york had? >> i hope not. we are seeing an increase on a daily basis or a weekly basis. >> reporter: while the death toll in florida at nearly 4,000 remains much smaller than new york's nearly 32,000, there are worrying signs it took florida four months to register 100,000 cases. in the last week, it doubled to 200,000 and this from miami beach's mayor about patients needing ventilators. >> in dade county two weeks ago, there were 60 covid patients on vents. today it is over 160 121 patients two weeks ago in the intensive care that census is now over 330 >> reporter: florida governor ron desantis says the increase in cases is because the average age of those being tested has dropped to 36 years old, young enough that they are not likely to be seriously ill and who did not get tested at the beginning

i think this is the safest option for us >> reporter: kerry sanders nbc news, orange park, florida >>> tonight we're learning more about the deadly shark attack in maine. authorities say a 63-year-old from new york city was swimming 60 feet from shore when a great white shark bit her. there were kayakers who managed to get her ashore but she died at the scene. this is only the second recorded unprovoked shark attack in maine. >>> the ninth storm of the year is intensifying in the atlantic and could become tropical storm isais expected to impact the leeward islands in puerto rico and could pose a threat to florida by the weekend. we'll keep our eye on it majorp next new league outbreak. (upbeat music) - [narrator] food delivery just got more rewarding, now that grubhub gives you rewards when you order. did you order tacos? again? boom, rewarded. (chewing) (dog barks) ordering dinner for the family? voila, rewarded, with a side of quiet. (baby mumbling) grubhub rewards you. get a free delivery perk when you order. - [group] grubhub. (upbeat music) want restand schools?pen? want the econ

nbc's kerry sanders in miami gardens, florida. joining our conversation are two good friends. dr. irwin redleter and eugene robinson. lucky for us, both msnbc contributors. eugene, if this then that. if donald trump was going to stand in front of spotters, don't believe your ears, the media is fake, only believe me. when we're in the throes of the most virulent and dangerous phase of a global pandemic here in our country, people didn't believe the science. >> that's absolutely right and so there are people who don't believe what's actually happening and that's a huge problem. but the other huge problem is just the lack of federal leadership. this is -- this is difficult but not that complicated. we have the data, right, we saw what happened in the new york area, where you guys actually did a shut down and stayed at home, clamped everything down, this horrific situation was brought under control, and to the point where there are actually very few new cases per day, zero deaths over the weekend if new york city. it's an astounding success story after an initial failure certainly, th

nbc's kerry sanders is in miami-dade county for us in miami gardens. kerry, good morning. give us the latest on the testing and how the state is handling this demand. >> reporter: it's those numbers you just talked about speaking that raised anxiety, not only for people who feel ill, but just for people who live in florida who want to get tested. so they come to places as early as 1:00 to begin lining up here, for instance, to get the test, and then they snake through a very slow-moving line. you can see some of the cars over my shoulder, eventually going into tests and getting the test. in some cases it can be a six to seven-hour wait after they open the line to get the test. that's how many people are in line here. but then you complicate it with the wait to get the results. the results can take sometimes seven, eight, up to 15 days waiting for the results. the problem with all of that is somebody comes to the line here to get a test. they feel okay but are a little anxious and then they go and start waiting for their test results, but they go about their daily lives. th

lester. >> kerry sanders tonight, thank you. >>> this evening, the justice department is accusing two men in china of trying to steal medical technology from companies here working on covid-19 treatments and vaccines. pete williams has details. >> reporter: less than a week after novavax, a maryland biotech firm announced that it was researching a potential covid vaccine, the fbi says, a computer hacker in china, li xiaoyu, searched for ways to hack into its computers. now he and a former college classmate are wanted men, charged by federal prosecutors with trying to hack into three other u.s. companies working on covid treatments and testing. they didn't succeed in stealing anything, the justice department says, but their cyberattacks were a potential distraction. >> we are concerned that the hacking or even the attempted hacking of that information can slow down the research. >> reporter: and the fbi says the two chinese men targeted companies in other countries doing covid research, part of a worldwide hacking campaign that also targeted high-tech firms and military contractors. so

kerry sanders is in orlando. >> reporter: the wonderful world of disney restarts tomorrow but for now it will be a small world. only the magic kingdom and animal kingdom opening. already the limited tickets for july sold out. reservations required. >> lots of social distancing, lots of hand sanitizers. everyone's wearing masks. >> reporter: on thursday, a rehearsal of sorts as invited bloggers, annual pass holders and employees roamed the parks >> i won't lie, it was a little strange, i mean, because you're so used to seeing all the cast members and their smiles and everything >> reporter: the return to business here comes just as florida becomes an epicenter of the virus. disney closed 16 weeks ago. all of the nation's theme parks eventually closed most in central florida have since reopened the estimated financial loss at disney alone, $1 billion a month. one place that tourists will be unable to visit is espn's wide world of sports, where nba players are now living inside a bubble. on paper, being cut off from the outside world should prevent the spread of the virus. >> this is whe

>> kerry sanders in miami gardens for us, thank you. katy, even the president -- one of his former chiefs of staff, mick mulvaney, seems to say the delay in getting a test result shows that we still have a testing problem. a reminder that all politics is local, huh, once it happens to you. suddenly -- anyway, over to you. >> he said it in an op-ed. his son waited 5 to 7 days to get tested. his daughter wanted to visit her grandparents and she could not get a test. she did not qualify to get a test. here in new york it takes 7 to 9 days to get test results. there's a horrible backlog at the two biggest testing companies, quest and lab corp. there's a backlog that needs to be worked out. president trump, chuck, is also facing fresh criticism in another key battleground state. the president was asked about school safety yesterday after three teachers in arizona got sick while sharing a summer school classroom. one of those teachers died. >> what do you tell parents who look at this, who look at arizona where a schoolteacher recently died t

with that, here is kerry sanders. >> reporter: the villages in central florida, home to an estimated 51,000 retirees hospital admissions of village residents with covid have increased nearly 40% in just three days >> elderly people need to recognize this virus is very discriminatory it really picks on the elderly. >> just a catastrophe. it's a disaster. >> reporter: kate smith sloan advocates for the most vulnerable how bad is the crisis for elderly in our country? >> we've described it as a category 5 hurricane. >> reporter: 95-year-old maria died from coronavirus the family suspects she was exposed from an attending asymptomatic nurse who unknowingly spread it. >> the only people who had access in and out were the nurses and the people that work there. >> reporter: health officials say it has been difficult to get a handle on the problem among the elderly in large part because nursing homes continue to be overlooked according to former cdc director dr. thomas freedom >> we are flying blind in the middle of the worst pandemic in a hundred years. >> reporter: in florida where one in

let's begin with nbc's kerry sanders who's in florida. cases have reached a troubling new milestone there. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. we're looking at the empty beaches from here at anglin's fishing pier. usually there would be crowds watching the sunrise but beaches are closed mostly across south florida. fireworks cancelled this weekend. the only explosions are in the numbers of new coronavirus cases. as you just noted, nationwide a new single day record, more than 62,000 positive tests. this fourth of july weekend parades and fireworks cancelled because of coronavirus. parks, beaches and boat ramps are closed too. >> the day we're supposed to be celebrating our independence, it seems like more and more of it is being taken away from us. >> reporter: health officials hoping this is not a repeat of our last big holiday weekend. >> we did see a surge in cases after memorial day. we're hoping that that does not happen during the fourth of july weekend. >> reporter: the u.s. setting another record on thursday, 53,000 new

nbc's kerry sanders joins us from miami with the three things to watch today. hey, kerry.for a spike in coronavirus cases. this as 14 states hit a record in the number of single -- in the number of positive tests in a single day. meantime, as you noted, the president is saying that he is optimistic that the tide will turn, despite the lack of medical evidence. >> i think we're going to be very good with the coronavirus. i think that, at some point, that's going to just sort of disappear. i hope. >> reporter: on the vaccine front, developments worth noting, that pfizer, working with the german pharmaceutical company, has seen some positive tests in human trials. while company officials say they're optimistic, they do warn it is still very early in the testing phase. savannah? >> i'll pick it up there, kerry sanders for us in florida. thank you. >>> top intelligence officials will brief leaders of congress today on those reports that russia offered cash bounties to taliban fighters to kill american troops in afghanistan. the state department, the white house, and some member

nbc's kerry sanders is in lauderdale by the sea in florida. kerry, beaches across that state closed, but not all of them. how is this state balancing the reality of people celebrating this holiday weekend and the effort the contain the virus there? >> craig, it's a confusing patchwork around the state. so that is really what makes it difficult. of course, florida is a giant state, so if you're >> jacksonville or south florida, it can feel like different states. where i am now, we're on the pier here at lauderdale by the sea. can he came here to show you an elevated position to look out at the beach. so the beaches here in broward county, so the north at palm beach, to the south in miami, those beaches are closed. that is putting a big dent, of course, in businesses. miami beach estimates even before fourth of july that this shutdown that everybody hab going through has been costing $3.5 million a day. so it is an economic impact. but the reason the officials are doing this is to stop the spread of the coronavirus. as you point out, this has has

petersburg, where we find kerry sanders. kerry, cases are up in florida, there are more closures happening. and hospitals are seeing icu capacity dwindle. what is happening in your state. >> well, clearly, there is a problem in terms of containing coronavirus. if you consider the fact in the first three to four months, we had about 100,000 and now 200,000 in the last two weeks. you can see that the numbers are, indeed, exploding. the question is, is it a result of the fact that maybe younger people are now getting tested? florida's governor, republican ron desantis says the average age of those now being tested is 36 years old. those who are waiting in line sometimes wait all day to get tested. but he suggests with the lowering of the age, the number of people who are testing positive should not be as concerning, because the younger, not 100%, but the younger patients do not have as a severe reaction as somebody who was 65 or older. but that belies the case that in florida, we've had patients with coronavirus as young as 11 y

nbc's kerry sanders is in ft. lauderdale for us. kerry, what is happening in florida? >> reporter: well, craig, the record of 191 deaths in that 24-hour period has just been eclipsed. the state just released new death toll numbers from coronavirus, now 217 deaths. that is, again, a new record for the state in a 24-hour period. as you just noted, it's really raising concerns for parents of children who know that their kids will be heading back into the classroom in just a couple of weeks. as we take a look at some of the empty classrooms that are socially distanced, they're trying to figure out how to do the desks, how kids will be brought into the classrooms and brought to school for that matter on the school buses. the state has also released the pediatric positivity rate. in some cases it's rather alarming. these are kids under the age of 18 who have been tested and come back positive. in martin county, 25.3%. suwanee county, 21.1%. oak choke okeechobee, 21%. miami-dade, 19.6%. broward, 17.1%. families are deciding what should they do. in some cases they're going to

joining me from fort lauderdale, florida, is nbc news correspondent kerry sanders. hey, kerry.e is requiring schools to open for in-person learning this month. what are you hearing from parents while we're in the middle of this news of increased cases among kids? >> well, it's a troubling statistic for parents because on the one hand that they hear the governor, the education commissioner telling all the counties in the state of florida that they should open their schools, that they should have in-class learning but at the same time they see these statistics we have across the country 75 children who have died from coronavirus, many who did not even have underlying conditions. and then they look at the county by county statistics which we can show you here a positivity results for children. that's people under the age of 18. and as you look at some of the numbers they're eye popping. 1 in 4 in martin county. 21%, and we get down to the epicenter in miami-dade county 19.6%. in broward county 17.1%. that's just north of miami-dade county. in fact the hospital reporting many of th

lauderdale, veteran nbc news correspondent kerry sanders. hey, kerry. >> reporter: hey, brian. that record of 217 deaths is an ominous number. it shows the deadly nature of the virus but that florida is maintaining its position of an epicenter in this country. the total number of new cases in the state today, 9,446. i am in ft. lauderdale, part of broward county. broward county that sits just north of miami-dade county. memorial health systems that runs the hospitals in the southern part of this county is now reporting many patients are making their way from areas like hialeah, crossing the border, coming to hospitals there. overwhelming the hospitals. what they had to do is pivot and take auditoriums, conference rooms and open them as places to treat patients. they brought in 100 new nurses they're using to supplement the staff already there, and training 100 more in the coming days. all an indication, brian, that the problem is only continuing here in florida and especially in south florida, brian. >> kerry, thanks. >> joining us, medical director of boston medical center, sp

for more i'm joined by joe fryer and kerry sanders. joe fryer, you know, it is interesting.the sunbelt fights this and we have talked about this before, california can't blame their problem on reopening too soon. any good explanation for why they're having such a hard time despite the fact that they have had stricter lockdowns, stricter protocols than most of the other sunbelt states? >> reporter: it is sort of hard to get an answer on that. you talk to officials saying some of the places where they see the cases come from might be indoor work settings or people having gatherings in indoors to see a cluster form from that and some concern is still over people's behavior, especially when things aren doors but there's the mask man date here and no garn teuarantee and evenh they moved at a lower pace it's still could have moved slower. you look in the bay area, northern california, not experiencing the same problems as southern california and moving at a conservative pace and you have the situation where so many businesses across california that had reopened in the last few wee

nbc's kerry sanders has our report. >> reporter: major league sports are fighting their way back, despite coronavirus surges across the country. superstar lebron james and the rest of the nba now just weeks away from resuming their season here at orlando. the league was the first to shut down when the virus started spreading. >> the nba is trying to be the first major league sport in america to fully, successfully have a daily testing protocol and a daily process to return. and so far it's all lining up, so far it's all making sense. >> reporter: but does it? the milwaukee bucks shut down its practice facilities after two players tested positive and it will remain closed for workouts until the team leaves for orlando thursday. the clippers and nets also closing facilities in recent weeks because of the virus. major league baseball unveiling its new condensed season schedule. >> there's a lot of fascination around this schedule for 2020. >> reporter: first up, last year's champs the nationals, hosting the yankees on july 23. instead of 162 games, each team will play 60 games in 66 days, so

nbc's kerry sanders is at a testing site in miami gardens, florida, for us. what are you hearing from health experts there about the spike and this new record of cases? >> reporter: well, it is a troubling trend that they're seeing in florida, 15,300 cases in a single day. and as you noted, shattering not only the record for the state, but really even for new york, with the epicenter began. over my shoulder here, these are the tents where people are lined up. cars began lining up here to get tests at 1:30 a.m. and now people are going through this. this has been going on for a while. the real problem here is that when people get their tests conducted, they often don't get the results back for eight days, sometimes even longer. and when it takes so long to get the tests back, people have gone on about their daily lives, unless they were feeling ill. so they may indeed be spreading coronavirus, which circles back to the question about opening schools. if children might be passing it around, and unlike other parts of the country, where schools resume in labor da

nbc's kerry sanders is in ft. lauderdale for us. he's outside broward health medical center. kerry, walk us through what's happening in that state, in your state, and what do we know about what came out of that meeting between that group of mayors and governor desantis? >> reporter: craig, florida is very much the epicenter. in the epicenter of the state there is the epicenter of south florida. so the numbers have just been released again today for the state positive tests, at 10,085. that's up from yesterday's 9,200. we see it going up and down. of course, what everybody wanted to see was the numbers going down. over the weekend we had a record 15,300. the problem is across the state. but, as i say, the epicenter is really here in south florida. in miami-dade, broward and pooech counties where there are more than 120,000 positive cases. the death toll as you noted, single day record of 132. in the backdrop of all of this, the governor who lives in tallahassee, the capital, quite a distance. came down to south florida and sat around with the mayors in south florida, specifical

this is what the president of the union told us earlier today. >> kerry sanders, thank you very much, this is what happens when there's not trust with your elected leaders. when there's not consistent messaging. there hasn't been consistent messaging from the federal government, from a lot of these governors about how severe this virus is, what it's doing. so when you do a thing like reopening schools and you potentially put so many young kids' lives at risk or the families back home at risk, there are going to be a lot of people who say, i don't care what numbers you're giving us. i just don't trust you because you haven't been truthful about this in the past >> look. this all goes back to our original sin of our inability to get testing up and running faster and even now because we don't have the technology for rapid testing. okay some places, do but we don't have it widespread enough. nobody can make any of these opening decisions as safe as they want to and i think this is the problem is that we realize that just simply having a testing protocol is actually not going to work now

>> thank you so much, kerry sanders, and that makes exactly the point. that contact tracing doesn't work if you have to wait eight days to get the results, find out if you are positive. joining me now, dr. michael osterhound director for the center for infectious decease and policy at university of minnesota and dr. richard besser, president and ceo of the report wood sbaunljohnson found and direct herb of the cdc. talk about waiting eight days and longer in some states to find out whether you're positive or negative. am i correct? does that defeat the purpose of contact tracing? >> first of all, the system is just broken. just plain broken. we have to understand that. to have contact tracing work, you have to have the test quickly but able to do it within the context how many cases are occurring. frankly, a state like florida on fire like this, contact tracing almost becomes irrelevant and can't be done. like trying to plant petunias in the middle of a hurricane. a challenge is getting those numbers down so we're in a reasonable amount, like here in new

kerry sanders, thank you for the update.ppreciate it. >>> want to bring in mayor dan gelver, miami of mia, mayor of i beach. how do you put these restrictions in place? >> first of all, a lot of people comply with rules, which is why we do have and need a statewide mandate for masks. the moment just like when we made seat belts required, people start to comply. there's a group of people who follow rules. the other folks we have a $50 fine, we felt arresting people was sort of a bridge too far for us, and not practical. so my hope is that there will be greater compliance, simply because we have a curfew. now that said, we've seen young people now coming out in throngs at house parties in places we cannot enforce, and really we're trying to message to them that it's entirely the wrong thing to do right now, to get together in ways that might endanger yourself, your family, people you don't even know, and that's the hardest thing to do. >> he >> reporter: here in texas we see economic backlash. a protest in austin, bar owners m

joining us now is nbc news correspondent kerry sanders in flo fort lauderdale, florida.ave a question about the meeting between desantis and the mayors, they came with questions about implementation, statewide masks order, places for lower income people to quarantine, and the mayor of hialeah wasn't allowed in. what more can you tell us about what happened and what it means for your state? >> well, what it means for the state is that there is still some confusion and, again, the governor has pushed down decision making to the local level. the mayors meeting with him are asking for some sort of state leadership. if there was any symbolism in terms of a slight change in the way the governor has been handling this, it is that at his news conference, he was wearing a mask, which he had not done before. of course governor ron desantis who in many ways follows in the foot steps of president donald trump, donald trump the president wearing a mask, photographed wearing a mask, then we see governor desantis at the news conference wearing a mask. why everybody was not allowed into

katy. >> kerry sanders with a perfect segue into our next guest. let's bring in dr. marty. she's a professor at florida university and specializes in infectious diseases. she also helped craft miami-dade county's reopening plan and sits on the mayor's medical advisory council. doctor, thank you so much. in crafting the plan for miami-dade, how much were you hampered or did it help to have a county-by-county approach and not a state down directive coming from governor desantis? >> well, the way it works is we are allowed to increase whatever level the state provides and then each city can go even higher than what each county determines. that's the way it works. and that's not -- of course, what really hampered us is not having a whole of government approach. whether you're talking about cities, in our case the league of cities in which there's 34 in miami-dade, the county, the state, or the country, or the world. we need everyone to have a solid view of this virus, and that's where we mostly failed. we didn't manage to convince our population to follow the new normal guideli

nbc's kerry sanders has more. >> reporter: this morning, as covid cases spike nationwide, president trump reiterating his belief the virus will fade away. >> i think we're going to be very good with the coronavirus. i think at some point that's going to sor hope. >> arizona reporting a staggering new record, 4877 new positive coronavirus tests in the last 24 hours. nurses in phoenix overwhelmed. hospitalizations in the state hitting their highest level since the pandemic began. >> it's starting to look a little bit like new york did. >> the same stress also being felt at icus in california. >> no good news to share, just sadness. >> just weeks after reopening, the governor there locking the state down again, shutting all bars, indoor restaurants and movie theaters in 19 counties for at least three weeks. as california notches another high, 6,402 new cases in one day. >> please do not take your guard down. >> either one oftates ng record highs in the last week. in tuscaloosa, alabama, officials say some students have been attending dangerous covid-19 parties with the intent of streding tpr

any state since the pandemic started in california the governor reimposed statewide restrictions kerry sanders has the latest >> reporter: in california an about face what had reopened now closing again. it includes closing all bars and indoor establishments like restaurants after more than 60,000 cases statewide in the past week. in 80% of the states gyms and hair salons also ordered to again shut down. some business owners say a second shutdown will close them forever. >> a lot of really good people are going to lose their livelihoods and go bankrupt and it's all because people wouldn't wear a mask. >> florida which remains open for business, residents began lining up to get tested for covid. florida now the poster child for what's gone wrong. more than 12,000 positive tests reported here, this after florida broke the single day record in any state on sunday. 15,300 positive tests. >> you're here because >> i wanted to test myself they broke a record. i seen all the 15,000, you know, it's freaking me out >> the unabated increase over the last two weeks spreading in most of the country. >> pe

. >>> in texas a record number of people flooding ers, hospitalizations have increased 120% kerry sanders is in florida where patients are going from pool side to patients in days. >> reporter: florida's hospitals are getting stretched to the limit. in some cases they're at the limit. >> scenes like these on florida's beaches on the holiday weekend worrying health officials with 44 hospitals here now reaching icu capacity. northside hospital in st. petersburg among them. >> is florida headed in the same overload that new york had >> i hope not. we are seeing an increase on a daily basis or weekly basis. >> reporter: while the death toll in florida at nearly 4,000 remains smaller than new york's nearly 32,000, there are worrying signs it took florida four months to register 100,000 cases in the last week it doubled to 200000 this from miami beach's mayor about patients needing ventilators. >> in dade county, there's over 160 people on vents, 121 patients two weeks ago in intensive case that's now over 330. >> reporter: florida's governor said the increase in cases is because the average ag

kerry sanders, nbc news. >> if you want to get tested there are three south bay sites open right now. this is video of people waiting at the county of santa clara service center auditorium. another is open at san jose high school cafeteria, and a third testing site is open in gilroy. this is at the south county annex. all testing is free. no appointment is needed, nor insurance. the sites will operate until friday. >>> also later today, santa clara county leaders consider temporary sales tax increase for the november ballot. this is to help fund the county's covid-19 response. meantime, in napa, city leaders are expected to approve keeping its current emergency status in effect. the city and county of napa are looking at major budget deficits. the county is already in a $20 million hole. >>> and disney world is tightening its mask and distancing policy. it comes in the wake of florida's surge in cases and some blowback for the images of seemingly lax enforcement. so now not only are masks required but visitors can no longer eat nor drink while walking. and distancing rules must be fol

kerry sanders is live in st. petersburg, florida. kerry, what have we learned from the governor in the last 30, that minutes or so? >> if folks were looking for florida's governor to announce that he was going to take control of the state, they're not get iting that right now. as you know for the longest time since this pandemic began in march, the governor has deferred authority over to local governments and he said emphasizing again that this is a problem in certain parts of the state, not one that requires his authority to issue, for instance, a mandate requiring people everywhere in the state wear masks. so you have that in certain parts of the state and others you don't. you have fourth of july weekend where the beaches primarily in south florida from palm beach, broward, dade and monroe county were closed. where over here on the west coast, the beaches are wide open. the reason we're standing in front of this hospital here is this is one of four hospitals that's now reached its capacity in terms of accepting patients in the icu

let's start with nbc's kerry sanders in miami. rry, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. folks began lining up here to get coronavirus tests at 1:00 a.m. they may end up waiting eight days or more to get results. one of the big problems is people go about their lives as they're waiting for those test results potentially spreading coronavirus. how bad is the problem? well, if florida were its own country, it would rank number four in the world. first, the entire united states. then followed by brazil and india. this morning sunbelt hot spots are spiking. florida hitting a national record reporting more than 15,000 new cases of covid-19 in a single day. at its worst, new york reported slightly more than 11,500 in a single day. >> i think something needs to be done and something needs to be done now. >> reporter: the unwanted surge comes after the state received 140,000 test results in just one day. on saturday florida's governor repeated his claim that people trying to escape the heat by going indoors may be to blame. >

joining me now is nbc's kerry sanders from miami beach. kerry, take us behind the numbers because these are really disturbing. >> reporter: these numbers are incredibly disturbing, because we have been led to believe that children, those under the age of 18, while we have seen some deaths and we have certainly seen some children get sick, that they are not a primary group that we need to worry about. but these numbers in florida are showing that indeed they are a group to worry about, because, think about this, kids may be going back to school as early as the middle of next month here in florida. and if one-third of the kids tested are testing positive, that means they're going to school but more importantly, they're coming home to their parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and potentially asymptomatically passing this virus on to a population that is more susceptible to it. so when we look at the numbers here, we see, as you can see on the screen with the numbers, a real concern. and then, andrea, when we look at what's going on in the st

. >>> first, going to florida, nbc's kerry sanders in st. petersburg. kerry, florida's cases are hitting levels no the seen sis new york's peak. the governor pressured to issue a state-wide mask mandate as the texas governor had to do last week. what is the situation there? >> reporter: well to put a fine point on that, i'm in st. petersburg, as you noted. this is one of four hospital the florida-area agency on health care administration says is out of space in its icu for more coronavirus cases. that is of concern here in pinellas county but really across the state as we're continuing to see going from, well it took four months to have 100,000 positive tests. now, in the last two weeks, to 200,000, and after this holiday weekend, the fear is that people did ignore social gathering right here in pinellas county. beaches were open, people gathered on the beaches. so the fear is that that lag time is now going to show up, and it's not only just spacing the hospitals, because hospitals can, they can move a little bit. they can add a little room here, make a

nbc's kerry sanders is in orlando where nba players are starting to arrive today hey, kerry >> reportern's wide world of sports where america's drought is about to end there will be no fans. there won't be any home court advantage, but america's past time is finally returning. and it all begins here tomorrow with the kickoff major league sports are fighting their way back despite coronavirus surges across the country. superstar lebron james and the rest of the nba now just weeks away from resuming their season here in orlando. the league was the first to shut down when the virus started spreading. >> the nba is trying to be the first major league sport in america to fully successfully have a daily testing protocol and a daily process to return. and so far it's all lining up. so far it's all making sense. >> reporter: but does it the milwaukee bucks shut down its practice facilities after two players tested positive. and it will remain closed for workouts until the team leaves for orlando thursday the nuggets, heat, clippers, and nets also closing facilities in recent weeks because of th

let's get to kerry sanders. he's in florida getting us started this morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. long lines again here this morning to get tested for coronavirus. folks began lining up here at 2:00 a.m. and health officials say if the trend continues and they believe it will, one in ten people who will be tested here today will test positive. >> i think it's important to tell you and the american public that i'm very concerned because it could get very bad. >> reporter: a dire warning from the nation's top infectious disease expert dr. anthony fauci testifying tuesday on capitol hill. >> we are now having 40,000-plus new cases a day. i would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around. and so i am very concerned. >> reporter: vice president pence now urging americans to wear masks. >> we know how to slow the spread. wear a mask whenever your state and local authorities say it's appropriate. >> reporter: nationwide covid cases soaring. 28 states seeing an increase i

kerry sanders is in kissimmee, florida, with a look inside the secret bubble. hey, kerry.e're here at disney world. this is espn's wide world of sports where they are living inside a bubble. this is the sole place the games will be played. the players are living here, eating here, and getting routine checks for coronavirus. on thursday for the first time they got a chance to hit the courts together. the nba is just now weeks away from playing competitive ball again. and after months of speculation and preparation, team practice is tipping off thursday at disney's wide world of sports complex. overnight lebron james and the l.a. lakers made their highly anticipated arrival joining other teams in the bubble where players are tested every day. >> can't go that way. >> reporter: terrence ross of the orlando magic giving fans a glimpse at the new secure setup. >> this is where we have to get tested every single day. >> reporter: philadelphia 76ers player making a statement about safety by arriving to orlando in a full hazmat suit. he's one of the players who has voiced concerns

nbc's kerry sanders is in lauderdale-by-the-sea in florida. rry, what precautions are they taking? >> reporter: well, it depends on the part of the state you're in. we're in broward county, which is in south florida. i'm standing on the pier in lauderdale-by-the-sea. the only way you can see the beach today is to walk out on this fishing pier, because the beaches are close incod in sout florida. as you look at the state, there are some serious issues going on in florida. we had a record single day positive test of 10,000. and so it's sort of waking people up to recognizing that what's happening in other parts of the country is now seemingly happening here and that people have a role to play. the concern, of course, is closing the beaches, canceling fireworks shows, telling people not to gather, whether people will necessarily follow through with not necessarily having a barbecue in their backyard, getting together with friends. then you get into other parts of the state, on the west coast of florida, in the clearwater area, where the beaches ar

>> kerry sanders in fort lauderdale, thank you. we're joined by frederick ingram, president of the florida education association. thank you for being with us. >> thank you for having me. >> you have a lot of parents that want kids back in school, you want your kid and teachers safely back in school. what are your concerns as you filed this lawsuit with school just a few weeks away for your adults in the building, teachers, custodian workers, bus drivers? what are you worried about? >> this is a nonsense call ar e argument that we're having. we have a 13.4% positivity rate. we have to get the positivity rate down and we don't know what the fallout is going to be when you start to cram hundreds of thousands of childrens in our schools. so that's going to create a problem for us. we don't want to be the petri dish for america. we need a survival kit. we need our state government to step up and lead in these issues. we have over 360,000 total people who have tested positive in the state of florida, 5,000 deaths statewide and we seem to

my friend and colleague kerry sanders is in broward county. what's happening there. are they doing anything for the fourth? >> you know, it's going to be such a muted fourth of july here which is, of course, what people need to do. health officials saying they don't want people gathering. we're in lauderdale by the sea. i'm on the pier over the water. a couple of people have gathered out here to do a little fishing but beyond that, the real goal for this holiday weekend is to stay at home. and that, of course, has bothered several people. you can see the beach right here is empty. the beaches in palm beach county to the north, here in broward county, miami-dade to the south and down in monroe county, they are closed. but not all the beaches in the state are going to be closed. if you look at the percentage increase of where we're seeing more and more cases around the country, the top three happen to be jacksonville, where the president is planning to go for accepting of the speech -- his acceptance speech for the nomination. number two is orlando, number three is tam

kerry sanders joins us now. here we are. we are days away from the beginning of august. people are getting ready to go back to school. i want to talk colleges. most school districts have been rewriting their plans multiple times. what are college campuses doing? >> well, we're at the university of miami, and they have finally put together their plans, stephanie. in nine days, students will begin returning or in many cases, freshmen will begin showing up on campus. it's going to be very different than the traditional sort of way you go to college. first of all, orientation for freshman will be all online. then there will be some in-class instruction, but they've also made it so that there are tents on campus, so that in-class instruction will be in a much bigger area, allowing for social distancing. everybody, of course, has to wear a mask. the question that universities across the country is the same one. how do you do this at the same time provide safety? the chronicle of higher education sort of began tracking this back in may. at that time, 74% of schools said we're g

we have reporters all across the county tri, but let's start with kerry sanders in florida. >> when it comes to numbers, you know more about the value and meaning of numbers than most. let's take a look at what happened in florida with the most recent numbers of positive tests in florida. we have 10,085 positive tests in a day. the record was 15,300, but just yesterday, we had 9,261. so you can see the numbers are going up and down. they're not going in the direction that we would really like to see in the state, which is down, down, down. and in miami-dade county, the real concern, again, another number, is that the icus now are beyond capacity. we're at 106%. how? well, hospitals do recognize what's going on so they've made plans to take areas that are not typically icus, open them up and add beds and other equipment needed. so we are now at pennsylvaniaed passed 100% for the icus. the big remains, is the governor of florida going to take a lead in setting a statewide mandate and at this point, he continues to say this is better handled at the local level because the state of florida