The Galley tavern in St. Petersburg, Fla., was disinfected earlier this week. The state said Friday it was suspending alcohol consumption at bars.
Photo: Scott Keeler/Zuma PressMIAMI—Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis heralded the state’s declining coronavirus case numbers in late April as he prepared to reopen the state’s economy. Two months later the number of cases is soaring, taxing hospitals and forcing some businesses to shut down again.
“Florida has gone off the rails,” said Thomas Hladish, research scientist at the University of Florida Emerging Pathogens Institute, adding that the trend in case numbers is driven largely by younger people resuming normal activities. “It’s very serious.”
The state, one of the last to impose a stay-at-home order and one of the earliest to reopen, reported a record 8,933 new cases Friday—64% more than the previous high two days earlier—for a total of more than 122,000 cases, according to state data. The rate of positive results among coronavirus tests jumped to 14.74%, far above the 5% threshold the World Health Organization says governments should try to stay below. Total deaths increased to 3,366, the ninth-highest among states.
Intensive-care units in some hospitals across the state have reached capacity. Bars and restaurants that reopened are shutting back down as workers and customers test positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. The Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays baseball teams closed their training facilities in the state after players contracted or exhibited symptoms of the disease.
Sources: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering; the Lancet; Associated Press; U.S. Census
The virus’s resurgence comes as the state prepares to host events. Major League Soccer is holding a 54-match tournament in Orlando starting July 8. The National Basketball Association plans to house 22 of its 30 teams in Orlando as well for a restart of its season starting July 30. And President Trump is now scheduled to deliver his Republican National Convention speech in Jacksonville in late August.
Mr. DeSantis, a Republican, said earlier this month that increased testing largely explained the higher case tallies. Unlike a few months ago, the volume of testing now regularly exceeds the level recommended by public-health professionals. But in the past week, he acknowledged that the growing numbers are also related to a more-aggressive spread of the virus.
The greater proportion of young people among the newly infected generates less of a burden on hospitals because that population is less prone to serious complications, Mr. DeSantis said at a news conference Friday. The median age of people testing positive is now in the 30s, compared with the 60s in March, he said.
In addition, Mr. DeSantis said, the state is well-equipped to respond to another wave of cases. Emergency planners have built up sufficient stocks of personal protective equipment, and hospitals have improved their understanding of how to treat Covid-19 patients, he said.
“We’re in a much better position to be able to handle what would come down the pike” compared with a few months ago, Mr. DeSantis said.
Mr. DeSantis has resisted calls to shift course on reopening or to impose a statewide order that people wear masks in public, leaving such decisions to local officials. The state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation said Friday it was suspending alcohol consumption at bars. Earlier in the week, the agency said it was stepping up enforcement of social-distancing guidelines at bars and restaurants.
A coronavirus testing site in Tampa. The state’s rate of positive results is far above a World Health Organization threshold.
Photo: Octavio Jones/Getty ImagesMarissa Levine, a professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health, said a mask mandate, along with clear, consistent guidance from the state, is needed to curb exponential growth of the virus. Even if new infections are largely concentrated among young people, the more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to reach older, vulnerable populations, she added.
“We have to work very quickly,” Dr. Levine said. “There’s a very small window of opportunity.”
Florida hospitals are starting to feel the strain. Among 208 facilities with intensive-care beds, 26 had none available as of Friday and another 30 had availability in single-digit percentages, according to state data. Overall, 24% of the state’s more than 60,000 hospital beds were available as of Friday, and 21% of its more than 6,000 intensive-care beds were available.
Two hospital intensive-care units in Orlando Health’s network had reached capacity, and the company was evaluating contingency plans, said a spokeswoman. In Miami-Dade County, one of Baptist Health South Florida’s ICU units had reached capacity, said Chief Operating Officer Bo Boulenger.
A warm day in Miami Beach. The city has recently shut down at least four restaurants for violating coronavirus rules.
Photo: Cristobal Herrera/ShutterstockHe said the company’s 11 hospitals had 272 Covid-19 patients on Friday, about twice the number they had two months earlier. But given the younger patient population, they are requiring fewer intensive-care resources.
“It’s a manageable problem for us at this present time,” Mr. Boulenger said. “But we are concerned about the rate of community spread.”
Local officials are reluctant to roll back reopening plans because of the economic pain inflicted by lockdowns. Instead, places such as Miami, St. Petersburg and Orange County are requiring the use of masks in public. Some, including Miami-Dade and Broward counties, are threatening to impose fines or sanctions on people and businesses that don’t abide by existing restrictions.
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In the past week, Miami Beach shut down at least four restaurants for violating coronavirus rules, said Mayor Dan Gelber. The city is dispatching code-enforcement personnel equipped with cameras to establishments.
“It may be a bit of a Debbie Downer on the party,” Mr. Gelber said, referring to the “Saturday Night Live” character. “But we can’t let the virus continue on an upward trajectory.”
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Write to Arian Campo-Flores at arian.campo-flores@wsj.com
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