New York's governor said hospitals will face fines for slow vaccine roll-outs, while Florida vowed to move doses away from hospitals that don't dispense doses quickly enough.

Only 60 Equity performers are working or returning to work at the Orlando, Florida-based theme park resort, the union said in a statement.

In his drive to return the state to normalcy, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis lifted limits on indoor seating at restaurants, saying they can operate at 100 per cent in municipalities with no restrictions and that other local governments can't restrict indoor seating by more than 50 per cent.

Florida reported 225 new deaths Wednesday, bringing its seven-day average of daily reported deaths to a high of 185, behind Texas with 197.

The United States has registered 10,000 deaths over the last 11 days, the fastest surge since early June, prompting heated debates between the American public and its leaders over the best course forward.

Even as Republicans were at odds with Democrats over how much money was enough, top Republican members of Congress also faced pushback from the White House.

Anti-mask protest leaders bought grilled cheese for 100 people who agreed to eat at the restaurant without a mask.

Meanwhile, two World Health Organization experts went in China for a mission to trace the origin of the pandemic.

In Canada, health officials recommend wearing a non-medical face covering when it's not possible to distance from other people, especially in public spaces such as stores or transit.

If Florida were a country, it would rank fourth in the world for the most new cases in a day behind the United States, Brazil and India, according to a Reuters analysis.