"Florida is now painted in red — for increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, for test positivity and high levels of community transmission in nearly 90% of the counties, according to the Jan. 3 White House COVID-19 Task Force report obtained by the Orlando Sentinel.
“Florida has seen an increase in new cases despite a significant decrease in tests performed, an increase in test positivity, and rapidly rising hospitalizations,” said the report. “Florida is in full pandemic resurgence and must increase mitigation, along with an active COVID vaccination program to decrease community spread and save lives.”
Orange County, which has been in the fifth or sixth place for the number of new of cases in the state, now ranks third behind Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the report shows. The three counties account for 36% of COVID-19 cases in Florida.
The Orlando-Sanford-Kissimmee area is labeled as one of the regions in the nation with an increased burden of COVID-19, potentially straining health-care resources. The number of COVID-19 cases in the area had a 52% increase compared to the prior week."
"The Jan. 3 task force report, along with three others from December, were released a day after the state agreed to settle its lawsuit with the Orlando Sentinel over delays in providing the weekly Task Force reports.
As part of the settlement, the state has agreed to release the future weekly task force reports within two business days and pay $7,500 in attorney fees.
The four weekly reports released to the Sentinel, starting Dec. 13, document the continued deterioration of COVID-19 metrics in Florida. On Thursday, Florida set a record for the number of COVID-19 cases, reporting nearly 20,000 confirmed infections."
Florida is now painted in red — for increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, for test positivity and high levels of community transmission in nearly 90% of the counties, according to the Jan…
www.orlandosentinel.com
Here's the link to the full January 3rd report -