JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Almost every day since June 3, the state of Florida reported more than 1,000 new cases each day and Monday the tally reached a major milestone.
On Monday morning, the Florida Department of Health coronavirus dashboard reached 100,217 confirmed cases in the state after 2,926 cases were added in the last 24 hours. It marks the fifth-highest one-day total since the state began tracking new cases.
This is not the number of COVID-19 infections active now but reflects the total number of cases of people who tested.
An additional 12 deaths linked to the virus were reported Monday, bringing the statewide death toll to 3,173. No additional deaths were reported in Northeast Florida.
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However, health officials said the true number of coronavirus cases is actually higher because not everyone who has the novel virus will get tested.
A recent surge in cases is driving more people to get tested and it’s expected to continue in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health renewed calls for people to wear masks in public, refrain from gatherings larger than 50 people, and stay socially distant. Gov. of Florida Ron DeSantis echoed some of those sentiments.
Over the weekend, the Governor held a news conference to emphasize the importance of following health guidelines while assuring Floridians he would not issue a state-wide mandate on the use of face masks.
“We recommend everyone follow CDC guidance. I’ve not preempted local. You have to enforce that. State-wide penalties would be problematic. You have to trust people to make good decisions and not mandate this and mandate that,” DeSantis said.
It’s important to note, there are exceptions to who should wear a face mask. People with asthma or other serious medical conditions should not wear a face mask if it disables breathing. Children under the age of 2 also should not wear a mask.
Duval County saw an increase of 183 reported cases with an 8.9% positivity rate for new cases on Sunday. St. Johns County added 35 new cases Monday and Clay County reported 25 additional cases. Both counties reported around a 7% positivity for new cases Sunday.
