Florida Bars Won't Reopen, But Schools Will; Cases Top 250,000

BRADENTON, FL — The number of coronavirus cases in Florida surpassed the quarter-million mark Saturday and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said bars will not be permitted to reopen any time soon.

"Right now we're not making any changes, status quo," the governor told reporters at the Blake Medical Center in Bradenton. "We want to get this positivity rate down. We want to hopefully see declining COVID-like illness visits at the EDs. Then, as we get into a more stable situation, then we'll take a look at it."

DeSantis said bars aren't necessarily to blame for Florida's recent surge in new cases of the virus since Miami-Dade County has seen the most new cases even though bars never reopened there.

The governor said bars that did reopen failed to enforce social distancing and capacity rules put in place to protect the public.

"The problem was no one was following that," he said. "It got to the point where my secretary, it was like whack-a-mole."

Asked if Florida school districts must reopen their brick and mortar schools in August, DeSantis deferred to Florida Senate President Bill Galvano of Manatee County, who appeared with him in Bradenton.

"The answer is 'yes,'" Galvano said. "School boards cannot ignore this order. The order specifically says five days availability, brick and mortar schools, at full capacity."

Florida's Commissioner of Education on Monday ordered all brick and mortar schools to reopen in August, but also gave school districts flexibility to use what officials described as "innovative teaching methods" to educate children.

"Obviously, the local counties are instrumental in this," DeSantis said. "It's got to be a collaborative effort."

The governor also repeated his comments from earlier this week when he said he would have no problem sending his three young children to school if they were old enough to attend.

"The risk is small for kids, but the problems on the other hand of not allowing them back in would be significant," DeSantis insisted. "At the same time, if a parent doesn't feel comfortable, and they want to offer distance learning. Look, I believe in school choice across the board, and this would be another one. I respect that."

Florida health officials on Saturday reported a total of 254,511 cases of the coronavirus in the state with a one-day increase of 10,360 new cases. Florida's latest one-day record was set on the Fourth of July with 11,458 new cases.

Florida had a 10.3 percent positive test rate for the virus Saturday as the number of tests administered in the state reached 2,477,810.

The percentage of positive cases has been increasing for weeks and cases have been trending younger with many of the new people testing positive between the ages of 25 to 34.

Don’t miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

The total number of deaths from the new coronavirus rose to 4,197 from 4,102 a day earlier. State officials reported another 104 deaths in Florida involving non-Florida residents.

Twenty-one Florida counties reported 94 more deaths Saturday though state health officials reported 95.

That compares to 117 new deaths Friday (health officials reported 93), 120 new deaths Thursday, 49 new deaths reported Wednesday, 63 new deaths Tuesday, 61 new deaths Monday, 28 new deaths Sunday and 18 new deaths Saturday.

Miami-Dade County reported 14 new deaths. Broward County reported 17 new deaths. Palm Beach County reported eight new deaths.

Polk County reported nine new deaths. Lee County reported seven new deaths. Pinellas County reported six new deaths. Volusia County reported five new deaths. Bay County reported three new deaths as did Collier County.

Okeechobee County reported its first two deaths from the virus. That leaves only five of Florida's 67 counties that have not reported any deaths, including including Franklin County, Gilchrist County, Gulf County, Holmes County and Lafayette County.

Duval County reported two new deaths as did Martin County, Orange County, Seminole County and St. Johns County.

Brevard County reported one new death as did Citrus County, Clay County, Gadsden County, Hernando County, Hillsborough County, Lake County, Santa Rosa County, St. Lucie County, Suwannee County,

Health officials reported 18,023 hospitalizations, up from 17,602 over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 421 new hospitalizations, which is also among the highest one-day increases.

Miami-Dade reported 60,868 cases of the virus Saturday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 28,253 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach and West Palm, reported cases.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 18,360 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 16,630 cases.

In an effort to provide as much information to our readers as possible, Patch is publishing the following county-by-county breakdown of the coronavirus cases in Florida's 67 counties, along with the median age of patients, the number of hospital cases by county and the number of deaths.

Related:

• FL Governor Says He Would Not Hesitate To Send His Kids To School

• Miami-Dade Nearly Doubles Coronavirus Contact Tracers Amid Spike

• Miami ABC Affiliate WPLG-TV Reports 9 Coronavirus Cases

• Toxic Bleach Sold As 'Miracle' Coronavirus Cure: Feds

• Most Florida Children Expected To Attend Traditional Schools

• Masks Are Now Required In Lakeland Public Places: Commission

• Patch Survey: Too Soon To Send Kids Back To School

• Coronavirus Confrontation On South Beach Elevator

• Miami-Dade Mayor Reimposes Curfew Amid Coronavirus

• Jackson Health CEO Issues Dire Warning Over Coronavirus Spike

Patch updates this chart once each day based on data provided by the Florida Department of Health. The counties that reported new deaths on Saturday are shown in bold.

Here is the most recent data:

This article originally appeared on the Bradenton Patch