TOPLINE
On Friday, Florida reported nearly 9,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, shattering its previous record for most new cases in one day and cementing the state as the new outbreak epicenter in the U.S.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at a news conference at Orlando Regional Medical Center on Tuesday, June … [+] 23, 2020, in Orlando, Florida, where he spoke about Florida’s coronavirus caseload topping 100,000.
John Raoux/ASSOCIATED PRESS
KEY FACTS
The previous one-day record for the state was 5,511 cases, set earlier this week.
Florida, along with California, Texas and Arizona, have all seen a resurgence of the virus in recent weeks.
Across the United States, 39,327 new coronavirus infections were reported on Thursday—surpassing the previous single-day record of 38,115, which was set on Wednesday.
With case numbers rising, some states are now hitting the pause button, rolling back reopening plans: Texas, Louisiana, Idaho, New York, North Carolina, Kansas, Maine, Nevada and Oregon are all delaying reopening plans in some capacity.
Florida joined that list on Friday, after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis showing no signs of relenting for days, ordering bars to stop selling alcohol on-site (Disneyworld, located in Florida, is still slated to reopen next month.)
DeSantis has blamed the record increase in coronavirus cases in his state on people not following social distancing guidelines though he has continued to downplay the threat to public health, claiming the spike can mostly be attributed to young people, who tend to have less severe symptoms.
Key background
Florida was one of the first states to reopen and is currently in Phase 2 of its reopening, which has allowed for offices to reopen, while bars and restaurants are allowed to operate at 50% of their normal capacity. After originally claiming the spike in cases could be attributed to a spike to increased testing—as President Trump has also misleadingly claimed—DeSantis acknowledged on Saturday that the rising number of new Covid-19 cases in Florida cannot be explained away by an increase in testing. “Even with the testing increasing or being flat, the number of people testing positive is accelerating faster than that,” DeSantis told reporters during a briefing at the state capitol. “You know that’s evidence that there’s transmission within those communities.”
CRUCIAL QUOTE
During a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci suggested that states may need to reconsider their reopening plans as cases continue to rise across the country. “I wouldn’t necessarily say an absolute shutdown, lockdown—but if someone is going from gateway to Phase 1 to Phase 2 and they get into trouble in Phase 2, they may need to go back to Phase 1,” he said. Fauci cited Texas, Arizona and Florida among those states that may need to consider these measures.
Surprising Fact
To put Florida’s record number into perspective, New York’s largest one-day increase in cases was 12,274, set on April 12.
Tangent
As outbreaks continue to worsen in several states, the Trump Administration is considering pivoting to a new strategy that would test people in groups, the Washington Post reports. That would allow officials to test more people with fewer resources and more quickly identify and isolate those who are infected.
FURTHER READING
Texas Has Set A New Coronavirus Hospitalization Record Every Day For 2 Weeks (Forbes)
Fauci Says Trump Considering Coronavirus Strategy Change: Group Testing (Forbes)
All 50 States Have Now Partially Reopened — Here’s How They Might Be Prompted To ‘Reclose’ (Forbes)
California Coronavirus Hospitalizations Increase 32% Over 14 Days (Forbes)
Mask Wars: As Mandates Grow—And Coronavirus Cases Surge—Some Conservatives Push Back (Forbes)
