The number of coronavirus cases in Florida has jumped 50 percent over the past week, officials said Friday, continuing a six-week surge that has seen it responsible for 20 percent of all new COVID infections in the country.
The Florida Department of Health said there were 110,477 new cases recorded this week, a jump from the more than 73,000 reported last week. Case numbers are now back to where they in January, just before vaccinations became widely available.
Hospitalizations are also approaching last year’s peak, according to the state’s Hospital Association. More than 9,300 patients are hospitalized, up from 1,845 a month ago and nearing the record 10,179 set on July 23, 2020.
Florida is second nationally in both new cases, behind Louisiana, and hospitalizations, behind Nevada, on a per capita basis.
This comes after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed an executive order banning school districts from requiring students to wear masks when classes resume next month.
“I have (three) young kids. My wife and I are not going to do the mask with the kids. We never have; we won’t. I want to see my kids smiling. I want them having fun,” DeSantis said at a news conference after signing the order.
Just 50% of Floridians are fully vaccinated, according Johns Hopkins University. The number of vaccine doses administered has increased more than 15 percent in a week, from 288,870 to 334,064.
