Florida Officially Has More COVID-19 Cases Than All Of Canada
Earlier this week, Florida broke a record of over 100,000 cases of COVID-19, as well as seeing its highest ever single-day spike. The increasing numbers have been breaking headlines across the state. And now, Florida COVID-19 cases have even surpassed all of Canada in its total number confirmed results.
As of publication, the Sunshine State's COVID-19 Data and Surveillance Dashboard shows 114,018 cases. COVID-19 Resources in Canada reports 102,431 country-wide.
A record single-day surge of 5,499 new cases was reported for Florida on Wednesday, June 24 according to Florida's Dashboard.
To date, the state has seen 13,775 total hospitalizations and 3,327 deaths — just less than half of Canada's total death count of 8,494.
Florida is now being called the new epicenter of the virus by some, with many upset residents taking to Twitter yesterday to express their displeasure with Governor Ron DeSantis’ lack of a statewide mask mandate, causing the hashtag #DeSantisFailedFlorida to trend throughout the day.
Last weekend, Florida’s State Surgeon General issued a public health advisory calling for all residents to don masks in public. However, the advisory has been left up to individual counties and cities to enforce.
Some counties including Hillsborough and Pinellas have enacted their own mandates and added hefty fines for violators caught without a mask.
Some cities, however, like Polk County’s Lakeland, have decided to forego a county- or citywide requirement at this time.
The debate over reopenings and mask mandates has been as hot as the summer heat lately, with many split on the issue.
While some have criticized DeSantis' decisions surrounding the virus and mask requirements, others have felt that the decision to wear a mask should remain up to individuals and businesses.
As cases continue to rise and major entertainment venues like Disney World near their reopening date, citizens and employees alike are voicing their concerns.
A petition to delay Disney World’s reopening was started by furloughed employees earlier this week who felt it was still unsafe to return to the major tourist attraction.
While it's not yet required by law, The Florida Department of Health continues to stress the importance of social distancing and mask-wearing at this time to help slow the spread of the virus.