COVID-19 cases in Florida and Jacksonville almost doubled in 1 week

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida – New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Florida and in and around Jacksonville have reached levels not seen in months. The White House has said the state is playing an inordinate role in increasing national numbers.

The growth of cases has increased for four consecutive weeks and is now at levels not seen since the winter.

Over the past week, 45,603 new cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Florida, an average of 6,515 new cases per day, according to weekly data released by the Department of Health on Friday afternoon. The state’s positive test rate rose to 11.5% from 7.8% the week before.

And while Florida’s history is concerning, cases of COVID-19 in Duval and neighboring counties are increasing even faster. Duval has seen 4,428 new cases in the past seven days – a positivity rate of 21.9%. The positivity rates for Baker, Bradford, Nassau, Putnam and Union counties are even higher. Baker and Nassau counties recorded the highest number of new infections per capita of all counties in Florida. (See full county-by-county numbers below.)

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COVID-19 cases every week since the pandemic hit Florida in March 2020

And while rates are rising nationwide – up about 70% over the past week – Florida’s rise is among the worst.

“Only four states accounted for more than 40% of all cases over the past week, with 1 in 5 cases occurring in Florida alone,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters during a briefing. briefing Friday.

The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States was becoming “an unvaccinated pandemic.”

Speaking at a White House briefing, Dr Rochelle Walensky said cases in the United States are hospitalizations increased 36% and deaths increased 26%. Almost all hospital admissions and deaths, she says, are among the unvaccinated.

Florida now has the fourth-highest per capita hospitalization rate in the United States, behind Nevada, Missouri and Arkansas, according to Jason Salemi, a University of South Florida epidemiologist tracking the outbreak national for over a year.

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Although hospitalizations follow the onset of an outbreak by about two weeks, they are considered a more accurate barometer of disease status than the number of reported cases, which can vary depending on the availability of tests and other factors. Still, the number of reported cases in Florida nearly doubled last week, from 23,000 to 45,000.

Assistant Secretary of State for Health Dr Shamarial Roberson said on Friday that the increase in cases was primarily among young people who are less likely to be severely affected. She said more than 80% of residents 65 and older are vaccinated.


Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated that even with the increase in cases, there will be no warrant requiring vaccinations, masks or social distancing. He has been pushing for the state to be fully open, a position he is using politically as he contemplates a 2024 presidential bid.

His 2022 gubernatorial reelection campaign sells beer t-shirts and koozies that say “Don’t Fauci my Florida,” in reference to Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease official. Fauci has pushed for a more cautious approach that includes wearing masks in public.

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At a new conference in Orlando, DeSantis blamed the new outbreak on the seasonal pattern of the disease.

“We knew it would be low in May and it was. And we knew that at the end of June and July it would increase, because that’s what happened last year, ”said DeSantis, who was vaccinated.

But Salemi and other epidemiologists and doctors interviewed attribute the spike to the state’s slowing vaccination rate, a decrease in mask wear and social distancing, and the delta variant.

“This is extremely concerning because we have already seen what this more transmissible delta variant can do in places like India and Indonesia with disproportionate access to vaccines,” said Salemi.

Dr Frederick Southwick, head of the infectious disease division at the University of Florida School of Medicine, said computer simulations show the delta strain will create “a marked increase in the number of cases over the next three months. “.

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“The delta variant grows faster in human cells and can spread to others, especially in closed spaces, even with a mask,” he said. “The only effective way to be protected against the delta variant is to get vaccinated.”

The policy has an impact on vaccination rates, as some national conservative media figures and politicians have played down or shown hostility towards vaccination programs. The lowest rates in the state are in conservative rural areas of North Florida – in some counties, less than 30% of adults are vaccinated.

While some of those counties escaped another outbreak, the tiny Baker County near Jacksonville now has the most active cases per capita in the state, while just 29% of residents aged 12 and over are vaccinated. Former President Donald Trump won 85% of the county’s vote.

The growing number of cases and hospitalizations appears to be prompting more people to get their first shot. Florida DOH data shows 96,089 people received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine last week – an increase from the previous week.

Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax and The Associated Press – All rights reserved.

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