Florida, in a move that should sadly surprise literally zero people, has become the latest state to surpass 100,000 total COVID-19 cases.
The state's Department of Health said in its latest update on coronavirus stats on Monday that the current total of agency-confirmed cases is 100,217. Florida has also seen 3,173 deaths. PerWKMG-TV, a regional Orlando outlet, there was also an increase of 82 new reported hospitalizations in 24 hours. The new total of virus-related hospitalizations is now at 13,119.
As has been seen by way of the state's recent forays into headlines, Florida is a prime example of how bafflingly disparate the handling of the virus is across the country, often to the detriment of public health. Florida, for example, has recently made news on this very site for virus-centered happenings including a bizarrely aggressive Walmart shopper who refused to wear a mask and assessments from health experts on the state's potential to become the "next large epicenter" of COVID-19 transmission.
"The potential for the virus to take off there is very, very nerve-racking and could have catastrophic consequences," Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, toldCNN earlier this month. Dr. Marrazzo pointed to a number of reasons on why Florida's virus numbers are uniquely troubling, including the "prevalence" of retirement communities and nursing homes for the state’s elderly citizens.
Meanwhile, the total number of cases in the U.S. will soon pass 2.3 million with nearly 120,000 deaths.
