Orlando: As Florida posts the biggest surge of coronavirus cases in the country, Walt Disney World in Orlando opened to the public for the first time in four months and anti-mask activists held a rally at a nearby restaurant.

Walt Disney Co welcomed a limited number of guests to its two most popular parks in Orlando on Saturday with a host of safety measures including masks and temperature checks.

Coronavirus infections are rising in about 40 states, according to an analysis of cases for the past two weeks compared with the prior two weeks. Nationally, the United States has broken global records by registering about 60,000 new cases a day for the last four days in a row, according to a tally.

Hospitalisations and positive test rates are also rising in the states at the center of the outbreak — Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.

Health officials have pleaded with the public to wear masks to limit the spread of the virus, but the issue has become politically divisive in the United States unlike many other countries that have seen far lower rates of infection and death.Anti-mask activists organised a protest on Saturday at a grilled cheese restaurant and bar in Windermere, Florida, which is in Orange County about 12 miles (19 km) from Walt Disney World.

The restaurant, 33 & Melt, has become a focal point of tension after owner Carrie Hudson said she was not requiring customers to wear masks. County officials have mandated the use of masks in public since June 20.

Published in Dawn, July 13th, 2020