The United States shattered its daily coronavirus case record with more than 73,000 new cases, adding to the exponential growth of the outbreak in the top global hotspot, as political divisions widen over the need for a universal policy on face masks.

Even as a growing number of state and local officials move to push for wider use of masks in public, a high-profile spat between Atlanta’s mayor and Georgia’s governor underscored how political the issue has become. Governor Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Bottoms— who recently tested positive for COVID-19— for enforcing the wearing of masks, arguing that Bottoms exceeded her authority.

"The State of Georgia continues to urge citizens to wear masks. This lawsuit is about the rule of law," Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement.

In a sign of how hard COVID-19 has hit the Sun Belt region, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott rescinded last month a ban on enforcing masks, and more Republican governors have embraced face coverings. However, New York City — a former global epicenter of the outbreak — announced on Friday that the Big Apple would move forward with the next phase of its reopening.

Dr. Howard Koh, a public health expert at Harvard University, told Yahoo Finance on Friday that the U.S. needs a national mask policy. He called the current environment “the public health fight of our lives right now, and this is a time where our country needs to regroup.”

With cases spiking nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control has also backed masks, saying it could reduce the spread of the virus in the next couple of months. Even some Federal Reserve members have advocated in their favor, citing the health of the economy, while a widening list of big companies have adopted face covering mandates when customers visit their stores.

Internationally, Thursday was also a record day for India, which surpassed 1 million cases, making it the third country behind Brazil and the U.S. to pass the unfortunate million-case milestone. The U.S. now has more than 3.5 million cases, a significant chunk of the nearly 14 million cases worldwide.

The uncontrolled growth in the U.S. is hampering all health systems in the hardest hit states, as well as pressuring testing capacity once again. One of the largest commercial labs in the country, Quest Diagnostics (DGX), has said in its weekly report that turnaround time is now more than 7 days in some states.

In response, Adm. Brett Giroir, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, said the federal government is likely to issue guidance soon to help with the clogged up testing system — mostly by preventing unnecessary testing and re-testing.

Separately, the CDC announced an extension of a No Sail Order for cruise ships through September 30, citing the close quarters as an easy means of spreading the infection— which is also surging again in Asia, where it first began.

Cruise ships “are more crowded than most urban settings. Even when only essential crew are on board, ongoing spread of COVID-19 still occurs. If unrestricted cruise ship passenger operations were permitted to resume, passengers and crew on board would be at increased risk of COVID-19 infection,” the CDC said in its announcement.

The trade association for cruise ships, the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), moved to extend the halt voluntarily on June 19.

Anjalee Khemlani is a reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter: @AnjKhem

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