Coronavirus

Florida Records Spike In COVID-19 Cases As Much Of State Reopens

The state also reported 41 new deaths Thursday.

Florida Records Spike In COVID-19 Cases As Much Of State Reopens
AP / John Raoux
SMS

Florida reported Thursday its biggest single-day increase of COVID-19 cases since March.

The Florida Department of Health counted 1,419 new cases in one day. That adds 2 percent to the total, bringing the state's cases to over 60,000. The health department also reported 41 deaths Thursday.

The spike came just a day before most Florida counties entered a second phase of loosening coronavirus lockdowns.

COVID-19 cases in Florida could be particularly dangerous because one in every five residents is over 65, about 4.5 percentage points higher than the rest of the country.

Florida also has a relatively high rate of another high-risk category — hypertension — with over a third of its population affected as of 2017.

A public health expert reminded Politico that symptoms don't show up for a couple weeks. That means this spike can likely be attributed to Memorial Day weekend.