On Tuesday, Dec. 1, Florida hit 1 million COVID-19 cases. This marks the third state to reach this number in the U.S. This comes at a time when Florida reopened their businesses to the public, as one of the first states to do so.

Florida reported 8,800 new cases on Dec. 1, causing the state to reach 1 million cases. Additionally, the state of Florida has recorded 18,600 deaths from this virus, and the numbers continue to rise. 

On Nov. 30, Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference and disagreed with mask mandates, demanding that schools stay open physically. However, public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control recommend the use of masks to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and lower the death rate. 

California and Texas first reported 1 million COVID-19  cases, but both have since surpassed that count. The three states — California, Florida and Texas — that first reported 1 million cases have the greatest populations in the U.S. out of all the states.

Florida counted its very first coronavirus case back in March in Tampa Bay. A month later, DeSantis issued a stay-at-home order to lower the numbers. A few months later, in the summer, the state planned on reopening. This reopening caused cases to spike again. Later on, in September, Florida moved to Phase 3, allowing the reopening of many businesses and lifting restrictions. 

Virus hotspots in Florida include Miami-Dade County, Broward County and Palm Beach County. In Miami-Dade, the number of cases has gone up to 245,063, in Broward, 114,426 and in Palm Beach, 69,329. 

In light of this situation, the U.S. has signed contracts with Pfizer, a pharmaceutical company, that has started distributing COVID-19 vaccines to U.K. citizens (to read more information about the status of the vaccine in the U.K, read our story here). The U.S. must wait until Dec. 10 for the Food and Drug Administration to begin considering the vaccine for approval.