08/02/2021 13:09
Clarín.com
World
Updated 08/02/2021 14:02
Florida, the state that never shut down and celebrated "freedom" despite the pandemic, is now in trouble again.
Today it is
the epicenter of the pandemic
in the United States, widely exceeding its historical record of daily infections with
21,683 new infections
, well above the 19,100 registered in the previous maximum in January.
The state accumulates 2.5 million cases and almost 40,000 deaths.
The appearance of the Delta variant has triggered cases in the state, traditionally
one of the most opposed to vaccination
and restriction measures in the United States.
A month ago, the state barely registered around a thousand infections.
Now, it registers one in five new cases in the country.
The governor of Florida and possible Republican presidential candidate in 2024,
Ron DeSantis
, has remained unmoved by the increase in cases until he promised to block the resumption of the
mandatory use of the mask
and chinstrap in confined spaces in Broward County. , the second largest in the state.
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The evolution of cases in Florida
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Source:
NYT
Infographic:
Clarín
CASES
0.000.00000.000
per million inhab.
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DEATHS
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per million inhab.
Source:
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Infographic:
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"The citizens of Florida are free, and will continue to be free, to do what they think is best for themselves and their families," he said.
Hospitalizations
The southern state, where
the largest Latino population
in the United States
lives
, registered 10,207 people hospitalized with confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the last hours, according to data from the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
The previous record was on July 23, 2020, more than half a year before vaccines began to go mainstream, when Florida had 10,170 hospitalizations, according to the Florida Hospital Association.
The state now leads the nation in number of hospitalizations per capita from Covid-19.
Hospitals across the state report having to place emergency room patients
on beds in hallways.
Colored Band-Aids with congratulations for kids who get vaccinated at a Miami hospital Photo: Bloomberg
In the past week, Florida recorded an average of 1,525 adult hospitalizations per day and
35 pediatric hospitalizations per day.
The data represents the highest per capita rate in the nation, according to Jason Salemi, associate professor of epidemiology at the University of South Florida.
Hospitalizations and increased cases have come as the new, more communicable Delta variant
has spread throughout Florida
and residents have returned to pre-pandemic activities.
Without chinstrap
For two months, in addition, most of the people had been seen in the streets, restaurants and bars without the use of chinstraps.
"The recent increase is surprising and not surprising at all," Professor Salemi said in an email to NBC News.
A sign warns that Pfizer vaccines are being given.
Photo: AFP
Federal health data released last weekend indicates that Florida reported,
on Saturday alone, 21,683 new cases
of Covid-19, the highest total in one day in the state since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show how fast the number of cases is increasing in the Sunshine State.
On Friday, Florida reported 17,093 new cases daily.
DeSantis has resisted mandatory mask mandates and vaccine requirements.
Along with the state Legislature, DeSantis
has limited the ability
of local officials to impose restrictions intended to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Beginning of classes without masks
DeSantis on Friday banned school districts from requiring students to wear chinstraps when classes resume in the next few days.
To this is added that there is a large sector of the population
that refuses to be vaccinated
, despite the large number of doses available, from Pfizer, Moderna and the single dose from Johnson & Johnson.
Florida Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, who is seeking to run against DeSantis for governor, urged unvaccinated Floridians to get vaccinated Sunday.
"We are already behind the curve and in a worse place every time the numbers come out," Fried said at a news conference in Tallahassee.
"This increase is and will affect each and every one of us" The most affected destinations are Jacksonville, Miami and Tampa, where hospitals are overwhelmed.
Agencies
ap
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