Coronavirus Infections Skyrocketing In Florida, Nearly 4,000 New Cases Reported Friday

TOPLINE

The Florida Department of Health reported an additional 3,822 confirmed cases of coronavirus on Friday, marking the second straight day that the state has set a new record for the number of Floridians infected, with new cases topping 3,000 in back-to-back days.

KEY FACTS

Key Background:

During a press conference Tuesday, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis claimed he wasn’t considering another shutdown. “We’re not rolling back,” said DeSantis when asked whether he would consider stopping some reopening efforts. At Tuesday’s presser, he pointed to clusters of “overwhelmingly Hispanic” day laborers and agriculture workers driving the state’s recent coronavirus spike. “We are not shutting down, we are going to go forward, and we are going to continue to protect the most vulnerable,” DeSantis said. However, according to recent projections from a model by scientists at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, Florida has “all the markings of the next large epicenter of coronavirus transmission.” As of Thursday, more than three-quarters of Florida’s adult intensive care unit beds were occupied, according to data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration

Tangent:

Miami has, by far, the most cases among all Floridian cities, with 14,305. Over the past three days, more than 11% of all individuals tested in Miami-Dade county have come back positive. People in Miami are “extremely concerned” about the increase in cases and hospitalizations, Miami Mayor Francis Suarez told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Thursday night. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep Miami from becoming an epicenter,” Suarez said. Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez urged at-risk residents on Thursday to take stronger precautions and reminded residents to stay home, if possible.

Critical Quote: 

“There are all kinds of alarm bells that are going off for me. I’m not comfortable with what I see happening in my community and that’s really the reason I took the actions I took,” said St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, who is requiring all workers at businesses who come face-to-face with customers to wear masks.

Further Reading:

Florida shows signs as next coronavirus epicenter as cases spike across the country (CNN)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pledges to keep state open, downplays rise in coronavirus cases (USA Today)