Florida reported a record 10,109 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest single-day increase for the state and more than 40 percent of all new U.S. cases for the day.
It’s safe to say the pandemic has a new epicenter, and it’s the Sunshine State. There are 169,106 confirmed cases in Florida. Infections are rising at rates not seen since April.
Florida’s health department does not calculate the disease’s impact within racial groups. Instead, the agency presents total cases, hospitalizations and deaths by race, Miami Herald reported. At the peak of the first coronavirus wave in mid-April, African Americans made up 12 percent of the 8,742 cases in Miami-Dade County but 24 percent of hospitalizations and 26 percent of deaths. The county’s population is 18 percent Black.
Besides Florida, the only other state that has reported more than 10,000 new cases in a single day is New York, with 12,847 new infections on April 10, three weeks after the state imposed a strict lockdown that closed most businesses, Reuters reported.
Rebekah Jones, Florida’s former top coronavirus data scientist, said she was fired on May 18 for refusing to “manipulate” covid-19 data to justify reopening Florida’s economy. Florida is overcounting how many people have been tested for covid-19 and under-reporting how many tested positive, Jones said at the time. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said she was fired for insubordination.
Jones has launched her own website, FloridaCOVIDAction.com. It shows far more covid-19 information than she said the state allowed her to report as an employee on its coronavirus dashboard, which she designed.
There’s a petition calling on Gov. DeSantis to resign. He has taken some steps to try to slow the spread of the virus, including closing bars and some beaches, but still no statewide mask mandate.
Experts attribute the rise of cases in Florida to reopening businesses too soon after the initial shutdown and people ignoring social distancing recommendations, The Hill reported.
The World Health Organization warned of a second wave, a second peak or a continuing first wave in some countries. “What we’ve been saying repeatedly is that we cannot be complacent, this virus is a nasty virus and what it needs is people to be in close contact,” said Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the World Health Organization in a CNBC report.
With 21 million residents, Florida has reported more new daily coronavirus cases than any European country had at the height of their outbreaks, Reuters reported.
By comparison, the New York metropolitan area, population, 18,804,000 has flattened its curve, reporting 764 new cases for the same period as Florida’s 10,109 new cases, according to Worldometer. New Jersey, population 9,241,900, reported just seven new cases as of this writing.
The U.S. has reported 131,118 deaths in the pandemic, including 32,165 in New York, 15,242 in New Jersey and 3,618 in Florida.
On Twitter, there was no mercy from respondents who said Florida’s new numbers reflect a dismal failure of leadership.
LuvMyRaiders tweeted, “DeSantis made a point of calling out NY a couple of months ago while bragging Florida’s low numbers. Now he gets to brag about owning the largest single-day increase.”
Pé@4everNeverTrump posted a photo and tweeted, “Here’s DeSantis and Pence on May 20 enjoying a meal at an Orlando restaurant; no masks, no social distancing, at full capacity. And DeSantis has the gall to blame people for throwing house parties.”
Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 73: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin makes the case for why this is a multi-factor rebellion vs. just protests about George Floyd. He discusses the Democratic Party’s sneaky relationship with the police in cities and states under Dem control, and why Joe Biden is a cop and the Steve Jobs of mass incarceration.
MookieBlaylock(As in the band, not person) tweeted, “Man, you guys are crushing it down there! So much winning that I am almost sick of it.”
Craig Liddell @CraigLiddell58 tweeted, “Florida breaking records on COVID cases after deSantis closed down three different agencies reporting and fired the state data czar … quite a case study in how to screw up a Pandemic response”.
And Empathy is a Gift @AtifQ tweeted, “Relax people. It’s going to just disappear. And like @GovRonDeSantis said, not enough people have died yet. Apparently one death isn’t too many. I want @GovRonDeSantis to go out and enjoy himself with all the masses without a mask. I want him to do that.”
