Jul 15, 2020 - Health

Florida's coronavirus outbreak is getting worse

Caitlin Owens, author of Vitals
Reproduced from The COVID Tracking Project; Chart: Axios Visuals

Florida is the new domestic epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, and it's on track to keep getting worse.

By the numbers: Of the 20 U.S. metro areas with the highest daily case growth, nine are in Florida, according to Nephron Research.

Driving the news: The state health department announced 132 new deaths yesterday, the most the state has seen since the pandemic began.

Between the lines: Deaths lag several weeks behind new cases, and cases are skyrocketing.

  • The state on Sunday announced more than 15,000 new cases, shattering the single-day case records in New York and California.
  • Florida now has more confirmed cases, adjusted for population, than New York ever had — although New York's true caseload was almost certainly multiple times higher than its official one.

Zoom in: "Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic. What we were seeing in Wuhan five or six months ago, now we are there,” said Lilian Abbo, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Miami, earlier this week.

  • Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers-Cape Coral, Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Sarasota-Bradenton, Jacksonville and Pensacola are also in the top 20 metro areas, as of July 12.

What we're watching: Hospitals are filling up, Disney World is open and the state is imposing minimal social distancing requirements.

  • Democratic Rep. Donna Shalala told Bloomberg that the state should consider a three-week shutdown. “We’re in a very difficult situation at the moment, and unless we step back and reset our strategy, a lot more people are going to die.”

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Why it matters: This is the lowest number of states to see dramatic single-day increases since Axios began tracking weekly highs in June, and marks a continued decrease from late July.

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Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Global: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 20,092,855 — Total deaths: 736,254 Total recoveries — 12,350,879 — Map.
  2. U.S.: Total confirmed cases as of 3 a.m. ET: 5,094,565 — Total deaths: 163,465 — Total recoveries: 1,670,755 — Total tests: 62,513,174 — Map.
  3. Politics: Trump claims he would have not called for Obama to resign over 160,000 virus deaths — House will not hold votes until Sept. 14 unless stimulus deal is reached.
  4. Business: Richer Americans are more comfortable eating out.
  5. Public health: 5 states set single-day coronavirus case records last week — A dual coronavirus and flu threat is set to deliver a winter from hell.
  6. Sports: The cost of kids losing gym class — College football is on the brink.
  7. World: Europe's CDC recommends new restrictions amid "true resurgence in cases."
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