Fla. case total again tops 10K
Desantis grilled about pandemic policies, school year plans
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida reported an additional 10,000 new coronavirus cases Monday, the 12th day since the Fourth of July that the number has topped that threshold.
The state Department of Health reported 10,347 new cases and 90 deaths. That brings the state’s totals for the entire pandemic to more than 360,000 cases and over 5,100 deaths.
The newly reported number of deaths brings Florida’s seven-day average to about 114 per day. Its overall number of deaths ranks 25th in the nation per capita, or about seven times less than that of highest-ranked New Jersey.
The number of hospitalizations for the disease continued to increase, standing at 9,452 statewide in the late morning Monday, up about 160 from the day before. Though the increase has slowed from about week ago, those additional patients have been straining intensive care units of some hospitals in South Florida, Tampa, Orlando and Jacksonville, and many administrators have limited nonemergency procedures to help make space.
Statewide, 18 percent of ICU beds were available.
The skyrocketing caseload is making for a strange summer in the Sunshine State, where many popular beaches are shuttered, residents and tourists can be fined for not wearing masks, and bars across the state aren’t allowed to pour liquor.
Critics have complained that Gov. Ron Desantis has not mandated a statewide mask ordinance as cases rise. The governor has repeatedly said policies in hard-hit South Florida might not make sense in the Panhandle,
where the infection rate is lower, even as his fellow Republicans increasingly acknowledge the need for a unified, nonpartisan message.
Speaking at blood center in Orlando, where he was interrupted by chanting protesters Monday, Desantis said parents should be given a choice as to what is the best option for their children, whether virtual-learning, in-class schooling or a combination of the two. Schools also need to make health accommodations for employees too if they are high risk, the governor said.
When asked about a Department of Education order requiring brickand-mortar schools to reopen, Desantis distanced himself from it.
“I didn’t give any executive order. That was the Department of Education,” Desantis said. “Obviously, if you look at the epidemic, it’s more severe in some parts than others, and I think you should recognize that.”
Later on Monday, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran suggested that the state’s emergency order merely restates current law that requires schools to “operate 180 days” a school year. Corcoran, a former state House speaker, works for the governor.