ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida and other states across the Sunbelt are thinning out the deck chairs, turning over the bar stools and rushing to line up more hospital beds as they head into the height of the summer season amid a startling surge in confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

In the past few days, states such as Florida, Arizona, Texas and California have reversed course, closing or otherwise clamping down on bars, shutting beaches, rolling back restaurant capacity, putting limits on crowds at pools, or taking other steps to curb a scourge that may be thriving because of such factors as air conditioning and resistance among people to wearing masks.

New confirmed cases in Florida have spiked over the past week, especially in younger people, who may be more likely to survive COVID-19 but can spread it to the Sunshine State’s many vulnerable older people.

Last week, more than 8,000 new cases were reported in that age group, compared with about 2,000 among people 55 to 64 years old.

Britain reimposed a lockdown in Leicester, a city of 330,000 people that officials said accounted for 10% of all new coronavirus cases in the nation last week.

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