Trust Index: Investigating Gov. DeSantis’ latest claims about COVID-19 in Florida

Gov. DeSantis said a case today is not the same as a case from March 30

ORLANDO, Fla. – News 6 is investigating Gov. Ron DeSantis’ latest claims about COVID-19 and put those comments through the trust index.

Gov. DeSantis talked about the latest cases.

“A case today is not the same as a case on like March 30,” DeSantis said just two days ago at a press conference in Orlando.

“A case on March 30 was almost always somebody who was symptomatic, usually somebody who was at least 50 plus but many times 65 plus,” he said.

That comment is true--but let’s not forget that on March 30 testing was so limited that most-- if not all-- places *required you to have symptoms and be 65 or over to get a test.

“The reason why the percentage of cases that are hospitalized has dropped across the country is that you’re finding more infections than you would have been able to do then,” he said.

Be Careful

After reviewing this topic, we've found some issues - Be Careful.

What is the Trust Index?

Overall hospitalizations are down across the country, but 15 states are also reporting increases for coronavirus hospitalizations including Florida, according to data from the CDC.

Dr. Vincent Hsu who is an epidemiologist at AdventHealth, one of the largest hospital systems in Central Florida, says their hospitalizations are also up.

“As the number of cases increases in the community we’re seeing that also in our hospitals,” Hsu said.

“We are unfortunately at an all-time high with respect to hospitalizations,” Hsu said.

The hospital is "well equipped" to handle the increase, and is not in "crisis mode," Hsu said.

Dr. Jeffrey Morris is Director of the Division of Biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania and an investigator for Policylab’s COVID-19 Response said the numbers could get worse.

“This surge that is happening in Florida is so recent, a lot of the hospitalizations and deaths that it will produce we just haven’t seen yet.”

Based on data from the CDC and doctors with first-hand knowledge, we give the governor’s comments “Be Careful” on the Trust Index.


About the Author:

Emmy Award-winning reporter Louis Bolden joined the News 6 team in September of 2001 and hasn't gotten a moment's rest since. Louis has been a General Assignment Reporter for News 6 and Weekend Morning Anchor. He joined the Special Projects/Investigative Unit in 2014.

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