Florida experienced a dip in coronavirus cases following a record-breaking weekend, reporting 5,266 new cases on Monday — down from 9,585 on Saturday and 8,530 on Sunday.
The Monday numbers, reported by the Florida Department of Health, bring the state’s total cases to 146,341 since March 1. The department added 110 hospitalizations and 28 deaths, bringing the state’s overall death count to 3,447.
Florida has experienced an explosion of new cases over the last two weeks, which officials have attributed to both an increase in testing and the reopening of the economy. Many of the new cases, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) noted, have been among a younger demographic, some of whom are asymptomatic.
“We know now after having dealt with the coronavirus for all these months that the mortality and morbidity is very closely linked to age,” he explained during a June 19 press conference, adding, “and those under 40, in particular, who don’t have any significant underlying conditions, are much, much less likely to be hospitalized or to suffer fatality.”
At the time, DeSantis noted the median age of those testing positive had decreased to 37.
“So, particularly in the younger cohort… you’re finding infections with minimal or zero symptoms. That’s a little bit different than what we did at the beginning of the pandemic,” the governor explained.
“A new case is just a positive test. It doesn’t mean somebody’s sick,” he added. “The number of cases is not necessarily something that’s going to tell you what the burden of the disease is.”
DeSantis recognized Sunday that rising cases coincide with younger people resuming their social lives but stressed that you “can’t control” people.
“They’re younger people. They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” he said.
Democrats in Florida’s Senate are expected to ask the governor to reverse course and revert to more restrictive lockdown measures as cases continue to rise in the Sunshine State, My News 13 reported:
On Monday, the Florida Senate Democratic caucus is calling for Gov. Ron DeSantis to further address the rising coronavirus cases in the state and it is expected that they want to see the return of restrictive lockdown measures.
…It is expected that Democrats will call for a special legislative session to address ICU bed capacity and state revenue concerns.
Florida has since suspended on-premises consumption of alcohol at bars across the state, as localities enact their own restrictions, some of which require residents to wear masks in public. Additionally, officials are closing popular South Florida beaches over the Fourth of July weekend due to the rising number of cases.
As it stood on Monday, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and Palm Beach County comprised over 43 percent of the state’s overall cases.
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