The Florida Department of Health (FDOH) reported a spike in the number of COVID cases for the week that ended July 15th, making it the second week in a row that the number of cases increased.
The FDOH reported 45,604 new cases from July 9th to July 15th which increased the COVID-19 positivity rate from 7.8% to 11.5%. The number of COVID-19 deaths during that week was 59.
The recent spike in Florida, as well as the nation, has been labeled as “the pandemic of the unvaccinated” by the Director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk, and communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well,” she added. Walensky also noted that after weeks of declines, the numbers for new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have all seen an increase in the most recent seven-day average.
According to White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients, one in five new COVID-19 cases nationally come from the state of Florida.
At a press conference last week, Governor DeSantis that the recent spike in cases is something that was expected due to the long 4th of July weekend, and because of the similar spike that happened during the same time last year in 2020. “This is a seasonal pattern, we knew it was going to be low in May and it was, and we know as we got to the end of June, July would go up, because that’s what happened last year,” he said.
Governor DeSantis has been criticized by Florida Democrats for his stance on opening the state and relieving it of any COVID-19 restrictions established by the CDC.
Although he has also been criticized for not encouraging more people to get the vaccine, DeSantis, who is vaccinated himself, praised the actions the state has taken in getting people vaccinated while highlighting that it is free and easily accessible at pharmacies across the state.
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Casey Owens is a contributing writer for The Florida Capital Star. Follow him on Twitter at @cowensreports. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Florida Department of Health” by Florida Department of Health (DOH).
