For the third time in four days, Florida broke its record for new cases of COVID-19 in a day, with the Florida Department of Health reporting nearly 10,000 new cases on Saturday.
Florida now has 132,545 total cases of the virus, sixth most in the country.
The alarming surge in cases this week forced Gov. Ron DeSantis
Ronald Dion DeSantisOvernight Health Care: White House seeks to reassure amid COVID-19 spikes | Florida stops bars from serving alcohol after shattering record of new coronavirus cases | Administration extends Texas testing funding Birx to join Pence in Texas, Arizona as coronavirus cases spike Florida to close bars after shattering record of new coronavirus cases MORE (R) on Friday to order that all stand-alone bars stop serving alcohol in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.
According to the state health department, 78,345 Floridians were tested for the coronavirus on Friday, a new record. Conservative lawmakers, including President Trump
Donald John TrumpMiami-Dade to close beaches for July Fourth weekend over coronavirus fears Oklahoma reporter tests positive for COVID-19 after attending at Trump’s Tulsa rally Trump slams Illinois governor, mayor over violence in Chicago, calls for ‘law and order’ MORE, have pointed toward increased testing as the culprit behind the rising number of cases; however, the percentage of positive tests, a better metric to use when trying to see if the virus is spreading, suggests that increased testing isn’t the only cause.
On June 13, Florida’s percentage of positive tests was 4.39 percent. By Tuesday, it had ballooned to 15.84 percent, and it is currently 12.82 percent, nearly three times higher than it was two weeks ago.
DeSantis on Friday also said that the state was starting to see younger adults being more affected by the virus.
“What we’ve seen, particularly over the last week, is a real explosion in new cases among our younger demographics,” he said. “When we started this in March, the median age of people who tested positive was, I think, 65. As the testing ramped up, that went into the 50s. But it was pretty much in the 50s for most of the time and then just recently has really plunged.”
The median age of new cases on Friday was 34, by comparison.
