On Thursday, the Sunshine state announced that it had broken its record for the highest number of coronavirus cases reported within a single day.

According to Florida’s department of health, there had been 1,698 new COVID-19 infections. That’s a 20 percent spike as compared to the previous daily high of 1,410 cases. Currently, the state has 69,069 cases and 2,848 deaths due to the outbreak.

When asked whether he had considered taking a step back at the state’s economic re-opening, Gov. Ron De Santis claimed that the surge in COVID-19 infections was due to an increase in testing. As of the moment, Florida had listed more than 1.3 million COVID-19 tests, and 5.3 percent of these tests were listed as positive.

On May 4, Florida began lifting its strict health safety measures to jumpstart its economic re-opening. As the state eased their restrictions, people started flocking to the beaches, as some were packed during the Memorial Day weekend. Add into that, health experts also claimed that the protests over the death of George Floyd might also lead to more infections.

Initially, experts predicted that the uptick in the coronavirus cases might hit during the fall, just in time for the flu season. However, as nationwide protests erupted, experts believed that the second wave of coronavirus might come sooner. In fact, some states including Arizona and Texas have also reportedly been hit by a second wave of coronavirus cases.

Recent polls also showed that Florida voters are most likely to blame China for the spread of the Chinese virus. According to the Cygnal poll which was released on Thursday, Florida voters consider communist China’s failure to end the deadly pandemic.

The survey was conducted between May 18-30 and covered 881 general election voters in Florida. The poll asked, “In your opinion, who is most responsible for the spread of COVID-19 to the United States.” Among the options, 42.5 percent believed that China should take the blame for the spread of the deadly virus. On the other hand, 27.2 percent blamed President Donald Trump’s failure to respond, while 6.7 percent claimed that individuals who violate social distancing guidelines are to blame for spreading the virus. Finally, just a little over five percent blamed natural causes, while less than three percent blamed Congress and local state leaders.

Cygnal cites that “More than 80% of voters agree that the Chinese government covered up information related to the pandemic and that U.S. leaders should reduce our dependence on China.” Voters also agreed that the country should be held accountable and should pay for the repatriation in their role of spreading the virus.

In addition, 56.6 percent approve of the President’s strong stand against the Chinese government and claim that they trust Trump over presumptive Democratic nominee Biden to handle American interests against China.