White House: Florida accounts for 20 percent of all new COVID-19 infections

Nearly 20 percent of the nation’s new coronavirus infections are now happening in Florida alone, according to a White House official.

Cases are rising across the nation as a whole as the more transmissible delta variant spreads but are concentrated in areas with low vaccination rates. 

“Just four states accounted for more than 40 percent of all cases in the past week, with 1 in 5 of all cases occurring in Florida alone,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters during a briefing Friday. 

“We will likely … continue to experience an increase in COVID cases in the weeks ahead, with these cases concentrated in communities with lower vaccination rates,” Zients said

Florida is seeing some of the highest coronavirus hospitalizations, new infections and deaths per capita in the country. The numbers bottomed out as vaccinations became available but recently have been climbing.

Currently, the state is reporting an average of 29 new infections for every 100,000 people per day — more than four times the national average. 

The positivity rate is hovering around 10 percent, and according to federal data, the seven-day moving average is more than 5,600 cases a day.

About 55 percent of eligible people in Florida have received at least a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, putting it around the middle of all states and the District of Columbia.  

Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) campaign team this week began selling “Don’t Fauci My Florida” merchandise, the latest in a string of conservative attacks on the nation’s top infectious diseases doctor, Anthony Fauci. 

DeSantis has proudly bucked the advice of federal health officials — schools remained open, and statewide public health mitigation measures were minimal.

The governor has encouraged people to get vaccinated but also banned businesses from requiring proof of vaccination and has banned local governments from enacting mask mandates. He also successfully sued the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to prevent the federal government from enforcing coronavirus precautions on cruise ships, like vaccination requirements for staff and passengers.