Coronavirus cases are on the rise throughout the state and the Orlando area is no exception. During a briefing on the state of COVID-19 in Orange County on Aug. 5, Mayor Jerry Demings revealed that the county has seen 1,000 new cases per day every day this week.
In addition to the sheer number of cases, the rate of positive coronavirus tests continues to climb. Between Demings’ Monday briefing and today’s, the positivity rate in the county passed 20 percent. More than one in every five tests in Orange County are coming back positive for COVID-19.
The state of Florida overall is seeing more than 100,000 new cases per day, accounting for more than a fifth of new cases and deaths in the United States. The situation — and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ statewide rules against masking — prompted President Joe Biden to ask Florida’s leaders to “get out of the way.”
DeSantis has called the reporting on Florida’s dire numbers a media-fueled “hysteria.” We are calling it “an accurate representation of an idiotic thing that didn’t need to happen.”
If you’re looking to receive a vaccine, the Florida Department of Health keeps a running map of all the vaccine sites in the state.
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This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2021.