Florida might not be able to safely reopen until mid-June, says data

We might have to stick this pandemic out a little longer.

According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, “relaxing social distancing may be possible with containment strategies that include testing, contact tracing, isolation, and limiting gathering size,” but not until after June 14.

That is when, according to their current model, Florida would be expected to have a manageable number of COVID-19 cases.

The former Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Craig Fugate, told CBS12 News that Florida should be reopened “slowly.”

“I think it would be better to slowly and more deliberately reopen, so we’ll perhaps not have to shut down again,” said Fugate. “If we begin moving back without testing, we’re going to have to be prepared what happens in two to three weeks if [coronavirus] starts getting bad and we’ll have to change what we’re doing.”

According to the Florida Department of Health, there are 30,174 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state. As of now, Florida is only one of 10 states in the country with over 1,000 confirmed coronavirus deaths.

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