Florida has broken the single-day record for coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began for the third consecutive day this week, even as hospitalizations for the disease have steadily declined.
The state recorded 186 new deaths from complications from COVID-19 on Tuesday in the last 24-hour period. Then Wednesday marked an additional 216 deaths. On Thursday, the record was broken for the third time after 253 deaths were recorded.
At least 6,586 people died in Florida from the coronavirus, according to the state health department. As of Thursday, Florida recorded at least 461,379 confirmed cases, and 26,017 residents remain hospitalized with the disease.
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The new deaths increased the average number of deaths per day to 154 over the past week, second only to Texas in the resurgence of the outbreak. Florida’s current death rate is about a fifth of that in New York at the height of its outbreak in mid-April.
Governor Ron DeSantis, who refused to issue a statewide mask mandate, spoke to reporters Thursday after seeing the launch of the Mars rover on Merritt Island. He was asked about the large crowds that gathered to see the take-off, many of whom were not wearing masks.
“Our guidelines have been that physical distance is important, close and sustained contact is the best mechanism to transmit the virus,” DeSantis said before lifting his mask. “If you can’t keep the physical distance, wearing the mask, this can stop some of the drops. It doesn’t stop them all. “
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Florida reported each day remains high, averaging 9,956. But the number of patients treated for COVID-19 in Florida hospitals continued to decline on Thursday, with 8,425 registered late in the morning, about 300 fewer than the day before and more than 1,000 from last week’s peak levels.
At a press conference with Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday, the governor took a positive tone and thanked the federal government for expediting shipments of the remdesivir drug to patients.
“We are encouraged by the latest trends. Yesterday, hospital admissions in the state of Florida for COVID-like illnesses were the lowest since June, ”DeSantis said at a press conference at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “Visits to the emergency department for COVID-like illnesses yesterday were as low as they have been since mid-June.”
He also said Florida’s case fatality rate is about 1.3 percent, one of the lowest in the country among major states.
Counties like the hardest hit Miami-Dade have implemented curfews to discourage social gatherings in bars. Neighboring Broward County, home to Fort Lauderdale, also ordered a curfew to curb the spread of the virus. And in the Florida Keys, two residents were jailed for failing to quarantine after testing positive for the new coronavirus.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said in a virtual press conference on Wednesday that his office has issued more than 260 citations in the past two weeks about large gatherings and “traveling car clubs” involving youth.
“Every time we have large meetings of more than 100, more than 150 people, it is clear that we are not observing compliance with the CDC recommendations and therefore more people will contract this virus,” he said, according to KQ2. “We have no interest at the moment to stop having this type of compliance operation.”
Florida’s efforts to keep the outbreak under control have been complicated by Tropical Storm Isaias, projected to head north along the state’s east coast over the weekend. Emergency officials have announced they will shut down state COVID-19 test sites late Thursday and over the weekend as a precaution.
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Even with hospitalization trends improving, schools in South Florida and the Florida Keys have already announced that they will begin their school year completely online in late August.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
