Confirmed coronavirus cases continue to rise in Florida, with the number of cases in state jumping by 164 on Monday.
According to the Florida Department of Health (DOH), a total number of 1,096 Florida residents and 75 in the state have tested positive for the virus. Additionally, the DOH reported 164 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 1,171.
860 tests are currently pending, with an additional 1,185 being monitored.
The new numbers come under the direction of Governor Ron DeSantis, who held a press conference alongside healthcare professionals in Orlando on Monday. The DOH will update numbers twice daily, at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.
“We’re expecting to see more. That’s just the nature of this,” DeSantis said Monday, citing that the increase of confirmed cases is largely due to an increase in testing.
Most of the new cases continue to appear in South Florida, an area of the state where testing continues to grow. According to Monday’s advisory, Broward recorded 41 new cases, bringing their total to 258 total. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade recorded 40 new cases, bringing their total to 267.
The DOH also reported one new death, bringing the total number of deaths in the state to 14.
During Monday’s press conference, DeSantis also discussed new ways to test people for the virus, including a new partnership with the University of Florida to test residents in The Villages and study how prevalent the disease may be among those who are not showing symptoms.
DeSantis also discussed his decision to not implement a stay-at-home order, something he has received backlash from Democrats for.
“For every action, there’s a reaction,” he said, responding to why he hasn’t issued a shelter in place order.
DeSantis said he will look at enacting other changes to stop the spread of the virus.
The uptick in confirmed cases comes one day after Florida surpassed 1,000 confirmed coronavirus cases.
First, to be clear, I am a Republican and did vote for Senator DeSantis. Second, I am an RN and absolutely do not agree with his decision to implement a stay-at-home order. People are not being responsible and following the recommendations of WHO, CDC and the Coronavirus Task Force. They are putting the public in danger. It is up to the Senator to enforce these decisions to keep everyone safe!
Which Senator is it up to, exactly?
Also, can you explain in greater detail why you think it’s necessary to enforce a stay-at-home order?
At this point we still have fewer than 1500 cases in a state of 21 million. During a recent visit to the grocery store, it appears everyone’s being responsible, avoiding close contact, washing hands, etc.
It’s starting to make many millions of people wonder what all the fuss is about.
And they won’t comply if he shuts the state down! He closed the beaches, look at them. Some people enjoy playing Russian roulette I guess. If he quarantines the state those same people will take it as vacation and won’t stay home.