What happened to flattening COVID-19 curve? Data shows Florida is among states with increases

Federal guidelines say states should see 14-day decrease before further reopening

A graph from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center shows the history of coronavirus cases in Florida from March to June 16. (Image: Johns Hopkins University) (WKMG 2020)

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida is among several southern states no longer making progress in flattening the curve of the coronavirus, according to data from the state Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University.

On Tuesday, Florida reported the highest number of new infections since the virus was first detected in the state more than three months ago.

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Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center has been tracking the virus since the outbreak first began, including monitoring coronavirus trends in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The university’s coronavirus tracking dashboard has been used around the world to monitor the pandemic.

Federal guidelines for reopening issued from the White House include milestones states should meet before moving forward with reopening, including a downward trajectory of documented cases within a 14-day period. In Florida, the state DOH has reported an upward trend of new positive cases since June 1.

Using graphs to visualize its data, Johns Hopkins released a report detailing what increasing or decreasing trends all states are currently seeing as they enter various degrees of reopening. View the trends for all states and U.S. territories here.

Florida is in phase two of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ multi-stage reopening plan.

According to the Johns Hopkins graphs detailing state-specific data, two-week increases in cases are highlighted in orange, or green if they are decreasing in number. The deeper the color the more significant the decrease or increase.

Southern states, including Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina are all in shades of orange. Nevada and Arkansas are also seeing increasing cases, the maps from Johns Hopkins shows.

Below is a look at Florida.

A graph from the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center shows the history of coronavirus cases in Florida from March to June 16. (Image: Johns Hopkins University) (WKMG 2020)

According to the Florida Department of Health dashboard, the state began seeing an increase in new cases on June 8, averaging more than 1,600 new cases over an 8-day period.

As of Tuesday, the FDOH reported 2,783 new cases of COVID-19, as well as 55 new deaths. This is the largest jump in newly reported cases of COVID-19 since the disease was detected in the state on March 1.

The new statistics bring the total number of coronavirus cases reported in Florida to 80,109, along with 2,993 total deaths.

More than 437,000 people worldwide have died as a result of the virus.


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