Floridians Infected With Virus Continues To Climb

From the Florida Phoenix: By Diane Rado - May 2, 2020

A day after Gov. Ron DeSantis launched the first phase of boosting Florida’s economy, the Florida Department of Health on Thursday reported 33,690 COVID-19 infections and 1,268 deaths.

The day before, the number of infections was at 33,193, and the number of deaths, 1,218 statewide.

DeSantis had said Wednesday that cases would continue to occur, but other measures signaled that Florida was ready for a first phase to bolster the economy, including partial access to restaurants and retail establishments.

The loosening of restrictions do not apply to Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach, the three counties that became the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in Florida.

Thursday, Miami-Dade reported 12,063 infections and 352 deaths; Broward, 4,953 infections and 185 deaths, and Palm Beach, 2,963 infections and 186 deaths.

Other counties with more than 1,000 infections were included in the loosening of restrictions because of a variety of measures. Those are: Orange County, 1,385 infections; Hillsborough County, 1,124; Lee, 1,021 and Duval, 1,012.

A dozen counties, often small, rural counties, had 10 or fewer infections, according to the state health department data.

More to come.

This story was originally published by the Florida Phoenix. For more stories from the Florida Phoenix, visit FloridaPhoenix.com.