It feels like forever ago that Orange County had a coronavirus positivity rate below 5%. That number was set by the county and used as a benchmark to declare an end to social distancing and mask policies. After Gov. Ron DeSantis blew up the “very small government” rule his party claims to stand for, mandating an end to mask policies from on high, Orange’s numbers quickly ballooned back into double digits.
Mayor Jerry Demings gave us a rare bit of hope on Monday, however. He shared that that number was back down to near 10%.
“We’re trending truly in the right direction,” Demings said during a regular briefing on the coronavirus numbers.
The news comes as school districts have briefly wrestled back the ability to govern themselves. Whether via recent rulings or just outright ignoring the threats of the DeSantis administration, some schools have implemented mask mandates to slow the spread of COVID-19 among young people.
Orange County, for their part, has mandated that all county employees get vaccinated. Large employers throughout the area were starting similar programs even before the White House mandated vaccination for employees of large private companies.
It all adds up to the lowest rate we’ve seen in a while (while still being well above our former goals).
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This article appears in Sep 15-21, 2021.