JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The novel coronavirus still presents a threat to public health, according to Chad Neilsen, director of infection prevention at the University of Florida’s School of Medicine in Jacksonville.
“Largely Florida and Governor Desantis have done a really good job managing COVID-19 outbreak response in the state, but it’s not quite time to relax yet,” Neilsen said. “We do see these little bumps up in cases and percent positivity here in the state of Florida and elsewhere. So I think social distancing still needs to be taken seriously.”
The state of Florida saw its largest daily increase of coronavirus cases to date Thursday, with 1,698 reported in the last 24 hours.
While the number of positive tests and the running total of confirmed cases do provide information on how many people have been affected by COVID-19, experts say the daily percentage of new confirmed cases provide a more accurate look at how the pandemic is trending.
“We tend to like watching the percent positivity," Neilsen said. "That’s a measure of how many people tested positive of the people who were tested. So, that accounts for that increased testing.”
While the statewide percent positivity of new cases shows a recent spike, the same data set for Duval County indicates a downward trend.
Neilsen said it’s very important for citizens to get vaccinated ahead of the 2020 flu season, as hospital capacity might not be able to handle a swell of both viruses at the same time, should a major resurgence of COVID-19 occur.