Florida has experienced a whopping 652 percent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases since Gov. Ron DeSantis greenlighted Phase Two of his plan to reopen the state less than two months ago.
As of Tuesday morning, 441,977 cases had been identified across the Sunshine State. On June 3 – just 56 days ago – when the governor made the announcement that bars and pubs could reopen at 50 percent capacity inside and full capacity outside, the state was reporting 58,764 COVID-19 cases.
Under Phase Two, bowling alleys, movie theaters, arcades and auditoriums also were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity. But a portion of that plan was short-lived, as DeSantis reversed his decision on bars and ordered them closed again on June 26 when the state was reporting 122,960 cases.
The number of deaths and people hospitalized also are quite different today than when DeSantis decided to reopen the state. On June 3, the state was reporting 2,566 deaths and 10,525 people hospitalized. On Tuesday, those numbers had ballooned to 6,240 deaths and 24,917 people being treated in area hospitals.
In the tri-county area on June 3, there were 39 deaths and 158 people hospitalized. On Tuesday, those numbers had increased to 127 deaths and 696 people requiring some form of hospital care.
On Tuesday, statistics provided by the Florida Department of Health showed that 20 percent of cases across Florida are in the 25-34 age group. Sixteen percent were in both the 35-44 and 45-54 age groups, with 15 percent in the 15-24 category. Only 13 percent are now in the 55-64 age group and seven percent in the 65-74 age group, which shows a distinct trend of younger residents becoming infected with COVID-19 at an alarming rate.
In The Villages, 15 new cases were reported Tuesday, bringing the total to 380. Another 32 new cases also were reported in the surrounding communities of Leesburg, Belleview, Wildwood, Summerfield, Lady Lake and Fruitland Park. With the addition of cases in Oxford and the Sumter County portion of Lady Lake, a total of 1,492 COVID-19 patients have been identified just outside the boundaries of The Villages.
The breakdown by day of COVID-19 cases across the state, beginning the day after DeSantis’ Phase Two announcement, is as follows:
- Thursday, June 4: 60,183, increase of 1,419;
- Friday, June 5: 61,488, increase of 1,305;
- Saturday, June 6: 62,758, increase of 1,270;
- Sunday, June 7: 63,938, increase of 1,180;
- Monday, June 8: 64,904, increase of 966;
- Tuesday, June 9: 66,000, increase of 1,096;
- Wednesday, June 10: 67,371, increase of 1,371;
- Thursday, June 11: 69,069, increase of 1,698;
- Friday June 12: 70,971, increase of 1,902;
- Saturday June 13: 73,552, increase of 2,581;
- Sunday June 14: 75,568, increase of 2,016;
- Monday June 15: 77,327, increase of 1,759;
- Tuesday June 16: 80,109, increase of 2,782;
- Wednesday June 17: 82,719, increase of 2,610;
- Thursday June 18: 85,926, increase of 3,207;
- Friday, June 19: 89,748, increases of 3,822;
- Saturday, June 20: 93,797, increase of 4,049;
- Sunday, June 21: 97,291, increase of 3,494;
- Monday, June 22: 100,217, increase of 2,926;
- Tuesday, June 23: 103,503, increase of 3,286;
- Wednesday, June 24: 109,014, increased of 5,511;
- Thursday, June 25: 114,018, increase of 5,004;
- Friday, June 26: 122,960, increase of 8,942;
- Saturday, June 27: 132,545, increase of 9,585;
- Sunday, June 28: 141,075, increase of 8,530;
- Monday, June 29: 146,341, increase of 5,266;
- Tuesday, June 30: 152,434, increase of 6,093;
- Wednesday, July 1: 158,997, increase of 6,563;
- Thursday, July 2: 169,106, increase of 10,019;
- Friday, July 3: 178,594, increase of 9,488;
- Saturday, July 4: 190,052, increase of 11,458;
- Sunday, July 5: 200,111, increase of 10,059;
- Monday, July 6: 206,447, increase of 6,336;
- Tuesday, July 7: 213,794, increase of 7,347;
- Wednesday, July 8: 223,783, increase of 9,989;
- Thursday, July 9: 232,718, increase of 8,935;
- Friday, July 10: 244,151, increase of 11,433;
- Saturday, July 11: 254,511, increase of 10,360;
- Sunday, July 12: 269,811, increase of 15,300;
- Monday, July 13: 282,435, increase of 12,624;
- Tuesday, July 14: 291,629, increase of 9,194;
- Wednesday, July 15: 301,810, increase of 10,181;
- Thursday, July 16: 315,775, increase of 13,965;
- Friday, July 17: 327,241, increase of 11,466;
- Saturday, July 18: 337,569, increase of 10,328;
- Sunday, July 19: 350,047, increase of 12,478;
- Monday, July 20: 360,899, increase of 10,347; and
- Tuesday, July 21: 369,834, increase of 9,440.