FL’s new COVID cases have spiked to 21,683 in one day — the highest since March 2020. (Florida Phoenix)

 Florida's now the epicenter of the COVID-19 spike.  Give credit where credit is due:  St. Johns County Commission Vice Chairman I. Henry Dean was right about mask-wearing.  Our timorous other Commissioners, afflicted with partisanship, followed the lead of our former Congressman, Florida Governor RONALD DION DeSANTIS, whose anti-science Philistinism causes disease to spread faster.  It's time for him to go.  From Florida Phoenix:

FL’s new COVID cases have spiked to 21,683 in one day — the highest since March 2020

COVID cases nationwide bumped to more than 100,000

BY: DIANE RADO - JULY 31, 2021 8:38 PM

       

 Novel coronavirus SARS CoV2, which causes COVID-19. Meanwhile, new COVID mutations called variants are now spreading across the U.S., including the Delta variant. Microphotography by National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

COVID-19 cases in Florida have reached a new milestone — 21,683 new cases in one day — the largest number since early March 2020, when Floridians had little information about the mysterious coronavirus and the disease that became COVID-19.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has published the daily numbers of COVID-19 cases since March 2, 2020.

On Saturday, the agency reported that Florida’s cases had spiked to 21,683, based on July 30 data. The closest numbers before that were 19,334 cases on Jan. 7, 2021, and 19,136 cases on Jan. 8, 2021.

(The CDC data shows a figure of 30,531 cases on Jan. 2, 2021, but the day before, there were no cases, on New Year’s Day, so the two days expected to be combined.)

Also on Saturday, the CDC reported 101,171 new COVID cases nationwide, up from 83,062 the day before.

Florida’s cases also increased, from 17,093 on July 29 to the 21,683 on July 30.

The spikes have been of concern, as a more contagious variant called Delta has been sweeping the country.

Despite the rising number of cases, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been adamant about fighting all COVID-related mandates and restrictions, such as lockdowns and mask mandates, particularly the use of masks at schools.

In fact, DeSantis is now in a clash with his executive power as the state’s chief executive and the Florida Constitution, which says school boards shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools.

An executive order by the governor Friday threatens to withhold state-controlled funding from school districts that do not comply with constitutional freedoms and parent rights related to face-masking requirements at schools.

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DIANE RADO

Diane Rado has covered state and local government and public schools in six states over some 30 years, focusing on policy and investigative stories as well as legislative and political reporting. She spent most of her career at the St. Petersburg (Tampa Bay) Times and the Chicago Tribune. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and did a fellowship in education reform at the University of Michigan in 1999-2000. She is married to a journalist and has three adult children.