Virus deaths rise by 67; DeSantis warns businesses

As Florida’s coronavirus cases explode — with 67 deaths in the past day — Gov. Ron DeSantis put pressure Tuesday on businesses that violate operating restrictions, saying they’ll get a visit from the “grim reaper in terms of business licenses.”

“If you go in and it’s just like mayhem, like ‘Dance Party USA’ and it’s packed to the rafters, that’s just cut and dry and that’s not just an innocent mistake,” DeSantis said during a news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center. “No tolerance for that. Just suspend the license and then we’ll move on.”

The promise came after a monthlong climb in COVID-19 infections and after days in which the governor downplayed the rising cases, saying most are occurring among younger people without serious complications.

The Department of Public Health added 3,286 new coronavirus cases Tuesday morning, lifting the state’s total to 103,503 people who have tested positive since the pandemic began.

At least 3,333 people have died from a virus-related illness in Florida, including 95 from outside the state. Florida has not seen as many deaths on one day since June 2.

In South Florida, the hardest-hit area in the state:

■ Broward County: 417 new cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 11,744 to date. A total of 399 people have died, four more since Monday.

■ Palm Beach County: 237 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 11,180. A total of 489 have died, eight more since Monday.

■ Miami-Dade County: Florida’s hot spot saw 583 new cases, bringing the total to 26,822. A total of 917

people have died, which is 18 more than Monday. Miami-Dade has 13% of the state’s population but 25.9% of the coronavirus cases and 27.5% of the deaths. The statewide numbers Tuesday represented the fourth-highest daily total since the beginning of the pandemic.

Florida reported 2,926 new cases on Monday, 3,494 on Sunday, 4,049 on Saturday, 3,822 on Friday and 3,207 on Thursday.

The state on Monday suspended the alcohol license of The Knight’s Pub near the University of Central Florida after at least 28 customers and 13 employees tested positive for the virus, according to the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

In his remarks to reporters Tuesday, DeSantis said he hopes restaurants and bars “get the message” they must strictly follow the rules limiting seating capacity to 50%.

“You want to have environments that are not going to be huge risks for transmission and if you don’t follow the guidelines and you pack huge numbers of people indoors that are very close, you’re creating an environment that you’re going to see more spread,” he said. “Look, it’s just not worth it to try to just go totally beyond these guidelines.”

DeSantis repeated that the majority of new cases this month have been 25to 34-year-olds, who are less likely to become seriously ill and require hospitalization.

The governor said the state will “stick with the basic program” — emphasizing social distancing, good hygiene, wearing facial coverings as needed or required. “That stuff will help reduce the spread,” he said. “We’ve said that from the beginning that the virus isn’t gone.”

In the 20 days starting June 3, only one day has brought fewer than 1,000 new cases.

Results, trends

The state Department of Health on Tuesday reported a total of 1.64 million people have been tested for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. About 6.3% of the tests have been positive.

The rate is higher in South Florida, where 8.7% of people tested have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the data. The region, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for 48.1% of the cases, with a total of 49,746.

In the latest results, received by the state on Monday and reported Tuesday, 14.1% of the 23,298 people swabbed statewide tested positive. By contrast, Monday’s report showed 16.1% of 18,205 tests were positive.

Four weeks ago, on May 25, 3.4% of the 14,992 tests were positive.

Deaths

Statewide: At least 3,333 people have died from the new coronavirus in Florida, 67 more than on Monday, the state reported.

Residents: The death total includes 3,238 residents and 95 from outside the state.

Senior care: At least 1,707 of the state’s COVID-19 deaths (51.2%) have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. And, 12,056 cases have occurred among residents and staff.

Hospitalizations

Statewide: A total of 13,318 people have been treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 since the start of pandemic-related recordkeeping, an increase of 199 since Monday. The number of available hospital beds has been declining in recent weeks, records show.

South Florida: Broward, Palm Beach and MiamiDade counties have had 7,174 people hospitalized, 82 more than 24 hours earlier.

Global view

U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 120,402 on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. has 2.3 million coronavirus cases, the most of any country in the world. At least 44,150 people have died in the national hot spots of New York and New Jersey.

Worldwide: Johns Hopkins also reported 9.1 million cases worldwide, with at least 472,793 people dead.

The United States has 4.3% of the world’s population and 25.3% of the world’s cases.