Every third resident of one of Florida’s counties tested positive for COVID-19. In general, the recorded positive test for coronavirus in the state at 19% is one of the highest in the country at present, Reuters notes. Recall that the WHO regards the rate of positive tests for coronavirus at 5% as “extremely alarming”.
Florida is one of the few states that does not disclose the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized. But more than four dozen hospitals in Florida reported that their intensive care units had reached full occupancy by the end of this week. In July, Florida authorities repeatedly reported new daily coronavirus cases, more than any European country at the height of the pandemic.
Fatalities from COVID-19 in Florida are close to record levels amid rising death tolls across the country. Despite the fact that more than 11,000 new cases of coronavirus were recorded on Friday, the authorities of the “sunny state” were still pushing their plans to open a Disney World theme park in Orlando. The park is slated to open as early as Saturday for a limited number of visitors. To mitigate the risk, visitors and staff will have to wear masks and undergo temperature checks, and there will be no traditional parades, fireworks, or other events that draw crowds inside the park.
About 19,000 of the 100,000 theme park employees signed a petition asking Disney to postpone the opening, and the union of actors, representing 750 Walt Disney World artists, filed a complaint in connection with the requirement of the park management to test them for coronavirus, according to NBC News.
Dr. Anne Rimoin, professor of epidemiology at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, told Variety that opening Disney World is a “terrible idea”. “There are several hospitals in Florida that are running low on beds. Health professionals warn that they will not have enough ventilators and the required number of beds in the near future, as new cases in the state hit new ones everyday records. In my opinion, everything is heading for disaster,” – said Rimoin.
Note that the United States has the largest number of cases and deaths from COVID-19 in the world. As experts warn, the number of such cases is likely to rise after the recent record-breaking outbreaks of the pandemic in many states.
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