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Covid-19 Cases Hit Record at Florida Long-Term Care Centers

Florida Covid-19 Cases at Long-Term Care Facilities Hit Record

Current Covid-19 cases among Florida long-term care residents jumped to 1,868, the most since the pandemic began.

That’s a one-day increase of 76 from a day earlier, according to a report released Tuesday by the Florida Department of Health. The numbers are up by 293 since Friday, when the state last published them. They include residents of assisted-living centers and nursing homes, who are among the most at risk of dying from the infection.

The Covid-19 positive residents accounted for 1.3% of the total long-term care population. Positive tests among staff rose by 134 in the past day to 3,090, also a record.

Covid-19 Cases Hit Record at Florida Long-Term Care Centers

Governor Ron DeSantis has downplayed the clinical implications of the recent surge in Covid-19 cases in Florida, saying it is mostly spreading among young and less vulnerable Floridians. He has said he is prioritizing the safety of at-risk populations.

Indeed, since the pandemic began, the state has drastically expanded testing at long-term care facilities. But the uptick in the numbers is very recent and it wasn’t immediately clear how much testing was a factor.

Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease specialist, said he’s “quite concerned” about rising cases in Florida, Texas, Arizona and California.

Florida reported 152,434 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, up 4.2% from a day earlier. Seen on a rolling seven-day basis, Florida’s new cases reached 48,928, the highest ever and about 10 times the rate when Florida started reopening its economy on May 4.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.