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Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What Charts Show

Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What the Charts Are Showing

(Bloomberg) -- Florida’s new Covid-19 cases surged Tuesday to the highest level ever, extending a concerning upswing in confirmed infections six weeks after Governor Ron DeSantis began a phased reopening of the state.

Cases rose by 2,783, or 3.6%, to 80,109, compared with an average of 2.5% in the previous seven days. Florida had been reporting about 5,000 cases a week through most of May, but the numbers have been climbing since early June, and new cases have now exceeded 1,000 in 13 of the last 14 days. On a trailing 7-day basis, there have been a record 14,109 new cases.

Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What Charts Show

Officials including DeSantis and Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez say the numbers reflect increased testing, but the recent increase in positivity rates suggests there’s more afoot.

Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What Charts Show

Hospitalizations are rising on a seven-day basis, though they are rebounding from recent lows and the state has ample hospital capacity. In Miami-Dade, Florida’s most populous county, Gimenez said it would take a dramatic increase in hospitalizations for him to reassess his reopening policy.

Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What Charts Show

Authorities also point to isolated outbreaks in agricultural communities, especially migrant farmworkers living and working in close contact. Indeed, the communities below have had striking increases in cases in the past two weeks. Still, though the list below isn’t comprehensive, the communities are contributing relatively small numbers to the overall case count.

Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What Charts Show

Lastly, deaths have been relatively stable in Florida, providing some support to DeSantis’s argument that the increase in cases isn’t having major clinical consequences. Florida has fared surprisingly well in this regard, considering it has one of America’s largest 65-and-older populations.

Still, deaths can be a trailing indicator of actual infections.

Behind Florida’s Covid-19 Surge: What Charts Show

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