State health officials reported 854 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida, Monday, for a statewide total of 46,442 cases. The Florida Department of Health also reported 26 new coronavirus-related deaths, Monday, for a total of 1,997 fatalities. 901 of the documented deaths in Florida have been associated with long-term care facilities, accounting for 45.1% of all COVID-19 related deaths in the state.
Monday’s single day increase data is more in line with recent trends in the number of new cases per day compared to the more than 1,000 new cases reported by state health officials Saturday.
Of the 677,710 tests that have been performed in Florida so far, 6.9% have been positive for the virus.
In the Southwest Florida region including Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, Lee, Manatee and Sarasota Counties, state health officials reported 132 new confirmed cases of the virus, Monday, and 11 new deaths, which is down from the 287 new cases and 15 new deaths reported in the region over the weekend.
Lee County now leads among Southwest Florida counties in both the total number of reported cases and deaths with 1,481 cases of the virus and 89 fatalities.
Over the weekend state numbers showed a sharp spike in positive cases of COVID-19 in Miami-Dade County. That was just before the county started to open up retail and other businesses Monday.
In a press conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis said those new numbers don’t reflect the real story.
“Of the 500 cases reported yesterday from Miami, 400 of them were backlogged cases from three weeks ago from April 24,” said DeSantis.
“There is this test center not affiliated with the state who had been running tests, and they just now reported it.”
The state publishes test results on the day they are retrieved and not on the day the tests were conducted. That means anyone looking at Florida’s so-called curve might be seeing statistical anomalies.
“It’s usually a data dump with backlogged tests, a prison outbreak, nursing home, or sometimes we’ll have new test sites that pop up and you see a surge and then it dies down,” said DeSantis.
The governor said despite these bumps, the signs for slowing the spread of COVID-19 in Florida are positive.
Gov. DeSantis is pushing back on members of the media, saying it’s up to them to vet anecdotal cases of people still waiting for unemployment benefits. His comments came after a reporter said he delivered 5,000 unanswered claims to the governor’s office Monday. DeSantis maintains there’s usually a reason for delayed benefits, ranging from missing information to applicants being ineligible.
But Senate Minority Leader Audrey Gibson (D-Jacksonville) said it’s the Department of Economic Opportunity’s job to vet applications. She says not receiving benefits is detrimental to families.
“They’re desperate. People are crying when they get spoken to. They’re sending capital HELP ME, worried about their home and their rent,” said Sen. Gibson.
Gibson said more than 1,000 people have come to Democratic lawmakers asking for help with unanswered unemployment claims.
Gibson reports some people can’t get past a certain point in the system. Others have gotten past, but their application is still pending.
State higher education officials are working on a plan to reopen campuses in the fall. Florida’s dozen public universities closed their campuses in mid-March and shifted classes online in the hopes of slowing the spread of COVID-19.
However, students could be back on campuses in August as leaders of the State University System say they’re preparing to reopen in the fall. The system’s chancellor will provide guidelines during a meeting later this month.
In June, leaders of individual universities will present their own specific reopening plans.
Chair of the Florida Board of Governors, Syd Kitson, said in a statement, “Our measured and thoughtful approach will be informed by science and medical professionals.”
Most retail shops in Florida have been open at 25% capacity for the past two weeks, as the state slowly attempts an economic recovery.
Beginning Monday stores were allowed to increase to 50% capacity. Many shops were shuttered in March, as the number of COVID-19 cases grew in the state. Florida Retail Federation CEO Scott Shalley said the COVID-19 pandemic has been devastating for the state’s 270,000 stores, most of which are small businesses.
However, Shalley said he's received mostly positive feedback from shoppers and employees over the past two weeks, regarding safety measures stores have out in place. Among others, he says the measures include plexiglass barriers, contactless purchasing, and increased sanitization.
““We were concerned that maybe folks wouldn’t turn out, but, I think the steps that are being taken to ensure a safe shopping experience have really encouraged people to step out and visit their local retailers,” said Shalley.
Also beginning May 18, fitness clubs and gyms were also allowed to reopen, while restaurants can now seat customers at 50% capacity.
OneBlood is now testing all blood donations for coronavirus antibodies. Spokeswoman Susan Forbes said the group wants to increase its supply of convalescent plasma that comes from the blood of recovered COVID-19 patients and is showing promising results as an experimental treatment for the disease.
“"It's something that hospitals are using and they want to continue to use with their critically ill coronavirus patients,” said Forbes.
“We have been able to create an inventory of that now and that inventory continues to grow every day.”
If the donor has COVID-19 antibodies, it means they have been exposed to the virus, but scientists say it’s not clear whether having the antibodies can protect someone from getting the disease again.
As businesses reopen and increase their indoor capacity, the Florida Department of Health is warning that buildings that have sat empty for weeks or months need to thoroughly flush out their water systems.
Brian Miller with the Florida Department of Health in Hillsborough County says when water is stagnant for an extended period of time, there can be a build-up of hazardous metals and bacteria such as Legionella:
“We've tried so hard for everybody to stay well during this time. Reopening would be a bad place to mess that all up at,” said Miller.
The bacteria can cause Legionnaires' disease - a severe form of pneumonia. The water droplets can be transmitted through showerheads, hot tubs, sink faucets, centralized air-cooling systems, and large plumbing systems.
Lido Beach and the Lido Beach Pavilion in the city of Sarasota will reopen. The Herald Tribune reports, city commissioners' vote to lift the beach restrictions reverses course on city leaders' cautious approach to reopening amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The city of Sarasota has remained steadfast in its closure orders to prevent spread of the virus even as other area governments have been lifting restrictions.
