Florida reports another daily record for coronavirus deaths
11 August 2020
Florida's health department on Tuesday reported 276 new coronavirus deaths, surpassing the state's record from July 31.
The big picture: The state also recorded over 5,800 new cases — on the low side for a state that is one of the domestic epicenters for the virus.
- Florida counted its highest number of infections in a single day — over 15,000 — on July 12, per the COVID Tracking Project, and daily spikes have gradually decreased since then.
Where it stands: 23% of hospital beds in Florida are available for new patients, as well as roughly 18% of adult intensive-care units, according to Florida's Agency for Health Care administration.
- Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Hillsborough Counties remain the most affected.
Between the lines, per the Miami Herald:Deaths announced in Florida "on a given day could be from several days earlier because the state information does not include the exact date of death."
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.