Miami-Dade Hits 1,000 Coronavirus Deaths As Patients In Health System Double

TOPLINE

Miami’s Jackson Health System, which operates one of the largest hospitals in the world, will stop elective surgeries after a doubling in the number of coronavirus patients over the past two weeks amid a worsening coronavirus pandemic in south Florida.

KEY FACTS

BIG NUMBER

1,000 — That’s the coronavirus death toll in Miami-Dade County, after nine new deaths were reported Wednesday.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR

Though south Florida has been hit the hardest overall of any part of the state, places like central Florida and the Jacksonville area are quickly catching up. Cases there are spreading even faster than south Florida, which already experienced serious effects from the first coronavirus surge in March and April. The city of Jacksonville, which will host the marquee events of the Republican National Convention in August, recently joined most major Florida cities in instituting a mask mandate. President Donald Trump requested the convention move from its original venue in Charlotte, North Carolina, in part because of the threat of strict coronavirus restrictions there.

KEY BACKGROUND

With the exception of south Florida, the state had a fairly limited spread of coronavirus in March and April, and Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated one of the earliest reopenings in the country. With the recent surge in cases, though, the state has backtracked, closing bars once again.

TANGENT

On Tuesday night, DeSantis extended the state’s moratorium on evictions and foreclosures just hours before it was set to expire. The new expiration set is set for Aug. 1.

FURTHER READING

Miami’s public hospital is once again halting non-urgent surgeries due to COVID spike (Miami Herald)

South Florida Closing Beaches For Fourth Of July (Forbes)

Miami-Dade coronavirus deaths hit 1,000 as Florida adds more than 6,500 new cases  (Miami Herald)

Trump Moved The Republican Convention From Charlotte To Avoid A Mask Mandate – Jacksonville Just Issued One (Forbes)

Florida Governor: ‘We’re Not Shutting Down’ After Record Coronavirus Infection Spike (Forbes)

Gov. DeSantis extends Florida’s moratorium on evictions, foreclosures (WESH-TV)