On yet another record-breaking day for Florida, coronavirus claimed its youngest victim in the state yet: a 17-year-old boy in Pasco County.
Only three people statewide under 24 have died from COVID-19, the respiratory illness causes by the virus. This is the first time someone under 18 has died from coronavirus in Florida.
The state added 4,049 new cases on Saturday, bringing the overall total to 93,797 total infections since the first recorded case in March.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the rising case numbers is because of increased testing availability. He also said hospitalizations remain low, and that the median age of the new cases is trending downward.
In an interview with CNN, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman said younger people were the largest share of the spike in new cases in the region. Kriseman also pushed back on DeSantis, saying blaming the sharp rise on increased testing is “a pretty silly argument.”
Kriseman, who ordered employees to wear masks in the city this week, said he hopes to expand it on Monday to all residents who go into public places.
What’s the picture statewide?
Over 24-hours, 12.3 percent of the new tests came back positive. ProPublica, a news agency that has been tracking the effect of reopening, has shown that the share of positive tests per 100,000 people in Florida is on the rise.
The state has tested 1.56 million people since March, which has been sharply increasing in recent weeks.
Hospitalizations increased by 165 people over a 24-hour period, and 40 additional deaths were recorded. In total, 3,237 people statewide have died from coronavirus and 13,227 have been hospitalized.
More than half of all deaths in the state are tied to long-term care facilities.
