What the Heck Is Going On in Florida? Part 2
We saw it coming
Almost two months ago, I wrote a story for the Medium Coronavirus Blog titled: “What the Heck Is Going on in Florida?” At the time, the state had just become one of the first to fully reopen. As Governor Ron DeSantis cited decreasing numbers of positive cases and deaths to justify reopening, critics called the accuracy of the state’s data into question. A Department of Health scientist was fired, and she revealed that she had been pressured to manipulate the data to support DeSantis’ reopening plan. All the while, public health officials repeatedly warned that it was too early to reopen, but Florida’s bars, beaches, and nightclubs were soon packed to the brim. In short, it was a hot mess.
Fast forward to the present. Last night, Florida’s DOH reported 15,300 new positive cases — a record for the highest number of new cases reported on a single day by any state since the beginning of the pandemic. If you counted Florida as a country, it would be fourth on the list of countries with the highest number of new cases per day, after the United States, Brazil, and India, Reuters reported. The state averaged 73 deaths per day last week, and a total of 4,346 people have died from Covid-19 there since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
