Florida, the current epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States, once again reached a new gray mark this Saturday: the state registered in a single day the record figures of
23,903 new cases of COVID-19 and 13,747 hospitalizations
, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The number of deaths from COVID-19 was also high this Saturday in the Sunshine State.
Health authorities reported 93 new deaths, just one day after reporting 199 deaths on Friday.
The data on the advance of the pandemic in Florida are alarming.
Although the state represents 6.5% of the United States population, as of the end of this week it contained about 19% of new coronavirus cases nationwide.
Florida broke a record again by adding 23,903 COVID-19 cases and 13,747 hospitalizations this Saturday.
The seven-day average of new cases in the state was 18,933 as of Aug. 5, up from a seven-day average of 2,478 on July 5.
That means that, in just one month, cases have skyrocketed by 664%.
The rise in cases has been caused by the highly contagious delta variant, but also by the resistance of a large part of its population to be vaccinated.
According to official data, less than 60% of the local population is vaccinated, so some 9 million people in the state have not yet received a dose.
[The Government plans to authorize shortly the booster dose of vaccine against COVID-19 for the most vulnerable people]
In a tweet, Nikki Fried, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services,
encouraged people who have not been vaccinated to get immunized on Saturday.
Fried stressed that 13,747 Floridians are in the hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19.
"This is more than yesterday, and the day before, and the day before," he wrote.
"If you are not vaccinated, turn off the television, close your social media apps, and look for a life-saving vaccine at http://vaccines.gov."
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The arrival of summer and the influx of tourists to theme parks and beaches in the south of the state have also contributed to the worsening of the health crisis.
Airlines have been reporting flights to popular destinations like Orlando and Miami at similar levels to 2019, before the pandemic began.
The wave of new cases and hospitalizations in the state has forced some hospitals in the state, such as the Memorial Healthcare System of South Broward, to temporarily suspend elective operations to reserve staff and space based on COVID patients.
As of Friday, there were 13,427 people hospitalized for COVID-19 in Florida, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, which was based on reports from 254 hospitals.
The department said that
about 2,680 people were in intensive care
, a little more than 42% of the ICU beds available in the state.
In Miami-Dade County, which has the most infections, COVID hospitalizations have not yet reached their summer 2020 levels, but they are getting closer.
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Local authorities have said they are opening more screening centers as restaurants, cinemas, shopping malls and supermarkets have stopped making the use of masks mandatory.
The state's governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, has consistently opposed the use of face covers and business closings.
It has also questioned the new CDC guidelines recommending the use of masks even for vaccinated people.
"I think it's very important that we say, unequivocally, no school closures, no restrictions, no mandates, '" DeSantis said at a news conference last week.
Florida registered the new record of daily infections this Saturday while the delta variant stalks with force throughout the United States: the country also registered this Saturday a new daily record of infections with 100,000 new cases.
This despite the fact that at least one dose of the vaccine has been administered to more than 70% of the adult population in the country.
