Florida, Texas post daily COVID-19 records as 'positivity' rates climb

South Beach is closed to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ahead of the Fourth of July weekend, in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., July 3, 2020. REUTERS/Elizabeth Feria

(Reuters) - Florida and Texas, two states that have emerged as the latest hot spots of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak, both reported record daily increases in confirmed COVID-19 cases on Saturday - with nearly 20,000 additional infections combined.

For a sixth straight day, Texas also registered an all-time high in the number of people hospitalized with the highly contagious respiratory illness - 7,890 patients after 238 new admissions over the past 24 hours.