Florida among five states to hit daily highs for COVID-19 cases

By Gary McWilliams and Nathan Layne

 

FILE PHOTO: Beachgoers sunbathe as beaches are reopened with restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Miami Beach, Florida, U.S., June 10, 2020. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

 

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Florida and four other states recorded daily highs for cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, highlighting the worsening spread of the coronavirus in parts of the U.S. South and West, prompting some officials to roll back their reopening plans.

 

The number of confirmed U.S. cases of the virus rose to more than 2.5 million on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. More then 125,000 Americans have died of COVID-19, the illness caused by the virus, the highest known death toll in the world.

 

Florida on Saturday morning reported 9,585 new infections in the last 24 hours, a record for a second day, while Arizona recorded 3,591 new cases of COVID-19, matching its prior record on Tuesday.

 

Nevada disclosed 1,099 cases, double its previous record, while South Carolina and Georgia reported 1,604 and 1,990 new infections, respectively, also marking new daily highs.

 

The surge in cases has been most pronounced in a handful of Southern and Western states that reopened earlier and more aggressively, serving as a warning to the potentially illusory nature of any perceived progress in controlling the virus.

 

On Friday, as the United States recorded its largest daily increase in cases, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, said the government's current strategy for finding and isolating infected people was "not working," partly due to significant asymptomatic spread.

 

The worsening contagion in some parts of the United States has created a split-screen effect, with New York and its neighboring Northeastern states, which were hit hardest initially, reporting declining cases and forging ahead with reopening plans.

 

Kami Kim, director of the Division of Infectious Disease and International Medicine at the University of South Florida, said her state's leaders claimed victory too soon after lockdowns were lifted starting in early May, while giving off conflicting messages on face coverings by not wearing masks themselves.

 

"It was just complete denial by a huge swath of the politicians," she said, predicting that the state may need to shut down again. "Unfortunately, our community still isn't taking it very seriously. People aren't wearing masks."

 

In a reversal of his early moves to relax restrictions, Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday ordered bars across the state to close and required restaurants to limit indoor seating, acknowledging that in hindsight he had opened bars too soon.

 

Esmeralda Moya, the mayor of Galena Park, Texas, a community of 10,000 people east of Houston, instituted an overnight curfew starting on Saturday night at 10 p.m.(0300 GMT). Moya said she was acting after Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Friday raised a health warning system for the county to its highest possible threat level, a sign people should shelter at home.

 

Florida, another state that reopened its economy relatively quickly, told bar owners on Friday to immediately stop serving alcohol on their premises.

 

Yet despite skyrocketing case numbers, both Abbott and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis have not bowed to pressure to issue statewide mandates on wearing masks, opting to leave that decision to local municipalities. Both Abbott and DeSantis are Republican, the same party as President Donald Trump.

 

Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College in Houston, said he fears that daily cases in the Houston area could more than triple to 4,000 by mid-July, making it the main global hot spot by then.

 

"We need to implement more aggressive social distancing measures now," the renowned vaccine scientist said.

 

At a briefing on Friday, DeSantis blamed the spike in infections on young people interacting more in the last few weeks, adding that they faced lower risk of dying than older people. Lending support to that view, Florida on Saturday reported 24 additional deaths, well off peaks in April when the elderly made up a larger proportion of cases.

 

But DeSantis also acknowledged that those young people, even if they don't become hospitalized themselves, could transmit the virus to the elderly or people with conditions like diabetes which make them susceptible to severe outcomes with COVID-19.

 

Earlier this week, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut imposed a 14-day mandatory quarantine on travelers from states with high infection rates like Florida, where some 13 percent of those tested on Friday came back positive.

 

In a disclosure meant to highlight that risk, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo issued a news release on Saturday saying he had ordered health officials to investigate an outbreak tied to a drive-in high school graduation ceremony in Chappaqua, New York.

 

One of the attendees at the ceremony had recently traveled to Florida and subsequently tested positive, Cuomo said in the release. Since then, an additional four individuals also at the ceremony tested positive and are self-isolating, he said.

 

(Reporting by Gary McWilliams in Houston; Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut; and Sinead Carew in Maplewood, New Jersey; Editing by Daniel Wallis, Diane Craft and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-06-28

 

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Who is that clueless, annoying clown that keeps telling us it will just "go away"?

4 minutes ago, PatOngo said:

Who is that clueless, annoying clown that keeps telling us it will just "go away"?

Florida man says virus "will go away"...

 

 

Trump will go away...

Stupidity on steroids. Anyone surprised by this must be brain dead. ???? And now Pence is cancelling campaign appearances in FL and AZ because of the 'hoax'. ????

 

This is the Rubicon for Trump, and his re-election campaign. Although it might be a month or more before its realized as such. A bunch of these states are Trumps base. They’re getting a firsthand glimpse of what those "liberal" states and cities went through. No Federal/ Presidential leadership. In fact, no help at all. He just ordered the removal of 13 federal funded testing stations last week because it gave him numbers he did not like. Window dressing, always the window dressing! He just does not care. That said it’s not like ADD Trump is capable of coordinating a nationwide response if he did try. Plus as he's fired all his capable people and just has carny clowns left who would be incapable of managing a relief effort.

 

Just a full on excrement show, but now some (not all) of his believers will have to face firsthand what all this means, while they buy a cemetery plot for Grandma Cletus. 

 

 

Edited June 28, 20206 yr by LomSak27

25 minutes ago, spiekerjozef said:

Trump will go away...

Are their enough "smart (American) people" to make that happen? ????

Wasent that trump mouth piece rick DeSantis just a week or so ago flapping his gums saying it’s all bs and masks are unessary there by squandering (along with the rest of them) what gains were made at such cost inexcusable come on November!!!and patongo yes there are plenty of us to vote that imposter out!!

Edited June 28, 20206 yr by Tug

Pence:  "We're flattening the curve*"

 

*vertically flattened

 

 

3 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Who is that clueless, annoying clown that keeps telling us it will just "go away"?

Who is his sycophant minion who just cancelled his trip to Florida? You know, the guy that said it's all better, the curve has flattened, the US has done the best job in the world?

2 hours ago, Tug said:

Wasent that trump mouth piece rick DeSantis just a week or so ago flapping his gums saying it’s all bs and masks are unessary there by squandering (along with the rest of them) what gains were made at such cost inexcusable come on November!!!and patongo yes there are plenty of us to vote that imposter out!!

He was BRUTAL in the way he attacked the media, saying they were trying to adjust facts to their own narrative. He's certainly singing a different tune NOW!

amazes me why grown ups trust MSM, do the research yourself.  new study by the University of Washington The national rate of death among people infected with the novel coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — that causes COVID-19 and who show symptoms is 1.3%, the study found. The comparable rate of death for the seasonal flu is 0.1%    deadly

 

17 minutes ago, Siamjim said:

amazes me why grown ups trust MSM, do the research yourself.  new study by the University of Washington The national rate of death among people infected with the novel coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — that causes COVID-19 and who show symptoms is 1.3%, the study found. The comparable rate of death for the seasonal flu is 0.1%    deadly

 

When was the last time the flu filled up so many ICU beds? What amazes me is that you ignore the hospitalization figures. In parts of texas and Arizone ICU's are are nearly full up. Health care personnel are exhausted. That means that not only are more covid patients going to die from lack of care, but so will non-covid patients. Does the phrase "collateral damage" mean anything to you?

2 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Are their enough "smart (American) people" to make that happen? ????

As a Canadian I have to wonder. 

6 minutes ago, johnpetersen said:

When was the last time the flu filled up so many ICU beds? What amazes me is that you ignore the hospitalization figures. In parts of texas and Arizone ICU's are are nearly full up. Health care personnel are exhausted. That means that not only are more covid patients going to die from lack of care, but so will non-covid patients. Does the phrase "collateral damage" mean anything to you?

I know people living in several of the states currently getting slammed. They're saying not to mess around this time, it's the first wave back with a vengeance cuz it wasn't handled properly. In particular, one guy from Arizona says it's absolutely political. If you're a Dem, you wear a mask; if you're a Rep, you don't. SMH . . .

6 minutes ago, J Town said:

In particular, one guy from Arizona says it's absolutely political. If you're a Dem, you wear a mask; if you're a Rep, you don't. SMH . . .

Thank you, President Trump.

1 hour ago, J Town said:

Who is his sycophant minion who just cancelled his trip to Florida? You know, the guy that said it's all better, the curve has flattened, the US has done the best job in the world?

They rally are starting to sound like Thai's!

Donald doesn't like testing because it highlights his miserable failure in dealing with the Covid-9 pandemic.  How about a gullibility test then?  You could start in testing those attending the Trump rallies.  I am sure the positive test results would be overwhelming but unfortunately,  there appears to be no vaccine available for those poor souls.

4 hours ago, Siamjim said:

amazes me why grown ups trust MSM, do the research yourself.  new study by the University of Washington The national rate of death among people infected with the novel coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — that causes COVID-19 and who show symptoms is 1.3%, the study found. The comparable rate of death for the seasonal flu is 0.1%    deadly

 

I'm not sure of your point.  Are you arguing that Covid 19 is comparable to the flu, since it is 'only' 13 times as lethal?  Or are you stating that Covid 19 is a serious problem because it is 13 times more lethal than the flu?

5 hours ago, Siamjim said:

amazes me why grown ups trust MSM, do the research yourself.  new study by the University of Washington The national rate of death among people infected with the novel coronavirus — SARS-CoV-2 — that causes COVID-19 and who show symptoms is 1.3%, the study found. The comparable rate of death for the seasonal flu is 0.1%    deadly

 

The latest figures for the US show 2,596,770 Total Cases and 125,152 deaths. That is 4.93505% and you have to bear in mind that the 2.5m figure is for positive tests, regardless of symptoms. If you exclude the asymptomatic, the percentage would be somewhat higher. You would have to make a wild guess as to the number of undiscovered, untested, asymptomatic carriers to reduce the figure considerably. Estimates of this figure range from 20-80% depending on whose guess you prefer.

4 hours ago, PatOngo said:

They rally are starting to sound like Thai's!

No need to insult Thais.

Staggering levels of ignorance; in both senses of the word!

Edited June 28, 20206 yr by SunsetT

 

Edited June 28, 20206 yr by Surelynot

13 minutes ago, SunsetT said:

Staggering levels of ignorance; in both senses of the word!

Saw this the other day.....it was like watching a car crash......you don't want to look, but you just can't stop yourself......I would love to know how she has got to this position? Parents, friends, internet????

Edited June 28, 20206 yr by Surelynot

30 minutes ago, Surelynot said:

Saw this the other day.....it was like watching a car crash......you don't want to look, but you just can't stop yourself......I would love to know how she has got to this position? Parents, friends, internet????

What position? She is a citizen, not an official, giving her opinion.

Great job Donald, really great job leading and advising the People.

Not to forget the stellar citizenry who have refused to wear masks because they have jumped right into the pool of partisan politicising of a virus and go about contracting and spreading Covid 19 as a participant in the bizarre narrative of being asked and or mandated to wear them is an infringement of my civil rights.  

No need to worry about civil rights if your in an induced coma or dead. 

The initial steps from the gitgo was to flatten the curve to give time to the medical profession to be able to gear up. Well, now is the time for the medical profession to show us what they've used the time for. This 2nd or 3rd wave should be easily handled. Nobody expected the virus to go away, just give us time to gather supplies and get ready for a pandemic. The time has been squandered or the original goal has been forgotten/changed/altered/politicized.

10 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

The initial steps from the gitgo was to flatten the curve to give time to the medical profession to be able to gear up. Well, now is the time for the medical profession to show us what they've used the time for. This 2nd or 3rd wave should be easily handled. Nobody expected the virus to go away, just give us time to gather supplies and get ready for a pandemic. The time has been squandered or the original goal has been forgotten/changed/altered/politicized.

Unfortunately this is the first wave.

Some off topic posts and replies have been removed. 

I’m finding the “excess deaths” stats to be surprisingly accurate. It looks at the average numbers of deaths over the last five years over similar time frames and compares them. Doesn’t matter what people die from - so it doesn’t look at testing, who got COVID, if you were hit by a truck - it doesn’t matter. 
 

https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2020/04/16/tracking-covid-19-excess-deaths-across-countries#eid-united-states