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Florida Covid-19 Daily Positivity Rate at Highest Since April

Florida Covid-19 Daily Positivity Rate at Highest Since April

(Bloomberg) --

The positivity rate among Florida Covid-19 tests surged to the highest daily level since at least April, undercutting Governor Ron DeSantis’s case that a recent increase in cases is in part the result of elevated testing.

The new rate of people testing positive for the first time surged to 10.3% for Tuesday, from 7.4% on Monday. The last time it was around 10% was April 13.

Florida reported 82,719 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, up 3.3% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 2.8% in the previous seven days. Deaths among Florida residents reached 3,018, an increase of 0.8%.

Seen on a rolling seven-day basis, Florida’s new cases reached 15,348, the highest level ever and about triple what they were for most of May.

Cumulative hospitalizations of Florida residents rose by 183, or 1.5%, to 12,389. On a rolling seven day-basis, they reached 1,044, the highest level since May 25.

Speaking Tuesday in Tallahassee, DeSantis said he had no plans to reverse the reopening of his state over the recent uptick in Covid-19 numbers, noting that there remains ample hospital space. He said the rising case numbers reflect more testing and isolated outbreaks, including at farms, prisons and at least one industrial factory.

“We’re not shutting down,” he said. “We’re going to go forward.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.