Florida reports 1,096 new cases of COVID-19, 53 more deaths

State reports 66,000 total cases since March 1

Virginia reports 51-251 coronavirus cases

Florida is less than a week into Gov. Ron DeSantis’ phase 2 of reopening, and newly reported cases of COVID-19 remain high.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has maintained since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year that the novel disease has an incubation period of two to 14 days, meaning that someone who contracted COVID-19 may not experience symptoms for up to two weeks after becoming ill.

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Memorial Day weekend, which drew large crowds in some areas, was a cause for many to venture out about two weeks ago.

[READ MORE: Memorial Day weekend draws crowds and triggers warnings]

The asymptomatic spread of coronavirus has been a concern from nearly the beginning of the pandemic as well; a person would be considered asymptomatic if they tested positive for the disease but showed no symptoms.

The Wolrd Health Organization ruffled feathers in the medical community when officials said they believe the spread of the coronavirus from people without symptoms is “rare.” The WHO’s assessment of asymptomatic spread was not a popular one, with many health experts globally disagreeing, saying that people without symptoms pose a risk of spreading the disease.

The Associated Press reported that numerous studies have suggested that the coronavirus is spreading from people without symptoms, but many of those are either anecdotal reports or based on modeling, as is the difficulty with a novel disease.

Later Tuesday, a top official with WHO tried to clear up what she called a “misunderstanding” over the organization’s comments on asymptomatic spread.

According to AP, Maria Van Kerkhove, the U.N. health agency’s technical lead on the virus pandemic, insisted Tuesday that she was referring only to a few studies, not a complete picture, in the comments she made Monday.

[READ MORE: WHO walks back statement that asymptomatic spread of COVID-19 is ‘very rare’]

Meanwhile, COVID-19 testing continues throughout the state of Florida and recent clinical numbers showed that more residents under the age of 50 are seeking testing for the respiratory illness.

According to Dr. Raul Pino, health officer for the Florida Department of Health, 50% of positive cases in Orange County in the last two weeks were in the 20- to 40-year-old range. The median age in the county was 37, but now it’s at 35, indicating a younger population is seeking testing and receiving positive results.

The FDOH reported last week that less than 3% of COVID-19 tests came back with positive results, but Pino said testing has doubled within the county over the last five weeks.

“The fact we are seeing a younger population may also be part of the reason why hospitalizations continue to be low,” he said.

As of Tuesday, the FDOH reported 1,096 new cases of COVID-19 since approximately the same time the day before, as well as 53 new deaths.

These new statistics, released by the FDOH, brought the total number of cases reported in the state to 66,000 since COVID-19 was first detected in Florida on March 1; the state also reported 2,765 total deaths as a result of the respiratory illness.

A total of 11,185 Floridians have required hospitalization since the beginning of March due to severe cases of coronavirus.

Florida does not provide the number of individuals who have recovered from the illness.

If you are having trouble viewing the dashboard on mobile, click here.

Below is a breakdown of coronavirus cases in the Central Florida region:

CountyCasesDeathsHospitalizations
Brevard4711373
Flagler195424
Lake3391582
Marion284841
Orange2,44945390
Osceola76221165
Polk1,24370350
Seminole55612117
Sumter2641745
Volusia83746164

The FDOH also reminded residents and visitors that under the governor’s executive order, a mandatory 14-day quarantine remains in place for people entering Florida from various locations in the Northeast.

As many Floridians struggle to find their financial footing after the pandemic put thousands out of work, Orange County residents are struggling specifically to apply for assistance under the CARES Act.

The Act allows those who meet certain requirements to apply to receive $1,000 to help pay for their rent, mortgage, medical bills or utilities. Unfortunately, demand was so great when the application process opened Monday that the system was overloaded and shut down one minute after it went live.

On Tuesday, the CARES Act portal went down after 90 minutes

[DETAILS: Orange County residents can try again to apply for CARES Act assistance]

Residents were able to apply again Tuesday, but the portal was closed after about 90 minutes. Anyone interested in applying is asked to go to ocfl.net/OrangeCARES so they can see the list of required documents and get those in order before the portal reopens.

To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter or go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.


About the Author:

Erin began her career at News 6 as an assignment editor, then became a show producer. She is now a digital storyteller as part of the Click Orlando team.

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