Florida Shuts Testing Centres As Storm Looms, Just As State Shatters Coronavirus Deaths Record

TOPLINE

Florida is set to shut its coronavirus testing centres today as it braces itself for Tropical Storm Isaias, but the closures comes one day after the state witnessed a record 216 deaths—the highest number of fatalities any state has seen since May 21.

KEY FACTS

Key background

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June to the end of November. Last weekend, Storm Hanna lashed parts of southern Texas worst affected by the coronavirus crisis. There are concerns that the record-breaking storm season could exacerbate the coronavirus crisis and hit already vulnerable states and islands that are also struggling with the economic impact of the virus and a downturn in tourism activity.

Big number

450,000 coronavirus cases. Florida overtook New York over the weekend to become the state with the second highest number of infections to date after California.

News peg

Florida is struggling to contain the crisis, with the state consistently breaking records for daily deaths and rising infections. On Wednesday, the state hit a second straight day of record deaths, with 216 people dying of the virus, after 186 the previous day. That was the highest number of deaths seen since May 21. However, Wednesday’s figures are far lower than deaths seen at the peak of the crisis in New York, which at one point saw more than 1,000 deaths in one day, and an average of 750 in one day, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was slow to enact social distancing measures at the start of the surge in the state, and has resisted calls for a statewide mask mandate even as individuals counties have acted.

Further reading

Another Grim Milestone: U.S. Records 150,000 Coronavirus Deaths (Forbes)

Florida Reported Over 200 Coronavirus Deaths Wednesday—Most Of Any State Since May (Forbes)

Florida Now Has The Second Highest Number Of Coronavirus Infections As Crisis Deepens (Forbes)

Coronavirus And An Active Hurricane Season Are Bad News – 3 Concerns As Gonzalo Forms (Forbes)