Thursday’s rise in reported cases was lower than Wednesday’s record-setting mark, but it’s only the second time the state has crossed the 5,000-case mark in a day.
For the second consecutive day, Florida has reported more than 5,000 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. Thursday’s rise in reported cases was lower than Wednesday’s record-setting mark, but it’s only the second time the state has crossed the 5,000-case mark in a day.
In total, the state has reported more than 114,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 3,327 coronavirus-related deaths.
« We are where we are, » said Governor Ron DeSantis during a news conference at a Tampa high school. He added that many of the new cases are in younger, healthier people. People can avoid spreading the virus by wearing masks, he said, along with avoiding big crowds and not being within close quarters with lots of other people indoors.
« Outdoors in Florida is better than the air conditioning, in terms of the virus, » he said.
Florida’s seven-day average positivity rate for coronavirus tests reached 14.4% this week. By comparison, it was 3.8% on June 1 and 2.3% on May 25.
The increase in cases is a worry as central Florida theme parks either have reopened or are days away from reopening.
A day after Disney said it would delay reopening its California theme parks, the union representing actors at Walt Disney World in Orlando said Thursday that the company should also postpone welcoming back guests at its Florida parks which are scheduled to reopen next month after being closed since March because of the coronavirus pandemic.
