WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump headed to coronavirus-stricken Florida on Friday to attend a campaign fundraiser, ignoring health advice about the dangers of large gatherings as he ramps up public appearances ahead of the election.

The virus has claimed more than 4,000 lives in the Sunshine State, where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis downplayed the outbreak early on but has since been forced to pause reopening.

The US is by far the hardest-hit country in the world, with more than 3.1 million confirmed infections and 133,000 dead. Florida was among at least six states that set single-day case records on Thursday, alongside Texas, Alabama, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, and Oregon. Florida and Texas also registered their highest daily death counts - 120 and 105 respectively.

By way of comparison, Melbourne in Australia, a city of five million, reimposed a lockdown after 191 tested positive in a day.

Trump's Florida visit comes as a new poll by ABC News and Ipsos found that 67 percent disapproved of his handling of the Covid-19 crisis, and an equal share disapproved of how he has handled race relations.

Despite these numbers, Trump appears to be doubling down on his strategy of intensifying public meetings in order to stoke his base.