South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Florida reports record 9,585 new cases
Just when you think Florida has finally reached its limit with the new coronavirus, along comes another day proving the outbreak continues to get worse.
On Saturday, the state reported 9,585 more people tested positive for COVID-19, the latest in a series of record-high daily totals prompting new restrictions and efforts to slow the spread.
In just the past week, Florida has confirmed 38,748 cases. That’s nearly twice as much as the previous week. Yet another way to look at it: there were 22,473 cases for the entire month of May.
Citing this “dangerous trajectory of
COVID-19 cases,” Palm Beach County’s teachers union is urging the school district to keep all classes online, “until such time that the medical and scientific community are able to convey that it is safe to do so.”
“All evidence indicates that for the foreseeable future, returning to on-campus instructional activity in any capacity is a dangerous gamble at best and dramatically heightens the risks to the lives of both employees and students,” wrote Justin Katz, president of the Classroom Teachers Association.
Based on recommendations from public health experts, Miami-Dade County will close its beaches for the long Independence Day weekend, as well ban public gatherings anywhere with more than 50 people from July 3 through July 7.
“As we continue to see more COVID-19 positive test results among young adults and rising hospitalizations, I have decided that the only prudent thing to do to tamp down this recent uptick is to crack down on recreational activities that put our overall community at higher risk,” Mayor Carlos Gimenez said.
This weekend, Miami-Dade police are going “to be out in force” to shut down restaurants and businesses that violate capacity limits, and disregard rules for people to wear masks and maintain social distanc
ing. Offenders face a second-degree criminal penalty of up to $500 and 180 days in jail.
“I have been seeing too many businesses and people ignoring these lifesaving rules,” Gimenez said in a statement. “If people are not going to be responsible and protect themselves and others from this pandemic, then the government is forced to step in and restore common sense to save lives.”
South Florida
Over the past 24 hours, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counted 2,522 new cases, or 26.3% of the statewide total. The three big South Florida counties hold
29% of Florida’s population. Breaking the numbers down further: Broward County: 726 new cases were reported Saturday, bringing the total to
14,046 to date. A total of 404 people have died, one more since Friday.
Palm Beach County: 430 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 12,928. A total of 505 people have died, two more since Friday.
Miami-Dade County: Florida’s hot spot saw 1,366 new cases, bringing the total to
31,562. A total of 962 people have died, which is one more than Friday. MiamiDade has 13% of the state’s population but
23.8% of the coronavirus cases and 27.6% of the deaths.
Palm Beach County leaders say they hope new rules requiring facial coverings will reduce the number of infections, while Fort Lauderdale is increasing enforcement of rules limiting businesses and restaurants to 50% capacity.
“Should that not be successful we have no other choice but to revisit stay-at-home protocols, which is the only way we know to dampen the spread of the disease,” Mayor Dean Trantalis said.
Testing trends
The state Department of Health now says 132,545 people have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The state reported a total of 1.83 million people have been tested so far. About 7.2% of the tests have been positive.
The rate is higher in South Florida, where 9.2% of people tested have been diagnosed with the disease, according to the data. The region accounts for 44.2% of all cases in the state, with a total of 58,536 so far.
In the latest results, received by the state on Friday and reported Saturday, 15.8% of the 60,710 people swabbed statewide tested positive.
In Friday’s report, 18.5% of 48,269 tests were positive, setting a short-lived daily record of 8,942 cases.
Four weeks ago, on May 30, only 11,726 tests were reported, with 8% positive.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says one factor for the surge of cases is that COVID-19 testing has ramped up since last month. He also notes that a majority of those testing positive in June are younger adults who are unlikely to wind up seriously ill or die.
State data released Saturday show the median age of residents diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday was 34. In MiamiDade, it was 40, while in Broward it was 35, and in Palm Beach County it was 42. The median means that half of the cases were people aged younger and half were older.
DeSantis on Friday told reporters that “very simple” measures will go a long way to reducing the spread of the virus. He urged residents, especially younger adults, to protect themselves and others with social distancing, practice good hygiene, and follow local rules such as those requiring facial coverings.
“These are not earth-shattering actions that need to be taken,” he said.
But Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, the only statewide-elected Democrat, on Saturday blamed the record-high new cases on failures by DeSantis and President Donald Trump. She also renewed her call for a statewide mask-wearing mandate.
“We saw the governor and the president with their heads in the sand,” Fried said in an national television interview on MSNBC. “People just thought the mission was accomplished. Now we’re seeing these huge spikes throughout the state.”
Deaths
Statewide: At least 3,489 people have died from the new coronavirus in Florida,
25 more than on Friday, the state reported. Residents: The death total includes
3,390 residents and 99 from outside the state.
Senior care: At least 1,782 of the state’s
COVID-19 deaths (51.1%) have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities; that’s an increase of 129 over the past week. And, 12,849 cases have occurred among residents and staff.
Hospitalizations
Statewide: A total of 14,432 people have been treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 151 people since Friday. The number of available hospital beds has been declining in recent weeks, records show.
South Florida: Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties have had 7,684 residents hospitalized, 76 more than 24 hours earlier. South Florida hospitalizations for COVID-19 are now eclipsing the peaks reached in mid-April, according to data obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
Global view
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 125,120 on Saturday afternoon, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. has almost 2.5 million coronavirus cases, the most of any country in the world. At least 46,256 people have died in the national hot spots of New York and New Jersey.
Worldwide: Johns Hopkins also reported more than 9.8 million cases worldwide, with at least 495,232 people dead.
The United States has 4.3% of the world’s population and 25.2% of the world’s cases.