The Reason Florida Is Setting Covid Death Records. Many of the Victims Are Young

Contrary to popular perception, the reason appears not to be because of heedless partying - though that is a factor - but because the state's Republican governor has refused to issue a mask mandate and has strongly encouraged businesses to reopen without many restrictions, making those of working age more vulnerable. JL

Nicholas Reimann reports in Forbes:

Florida set a new daily record for coronavirus deaths. The state reported 276 coronavirus deaths Tuesday, breaking the old record of 257 set on July 31. On July 12, Florida set a national record when it reported over 15,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day.Younger people have started dying at higher rates recently than earlier in the pandemic.More residents in the 25-44 age group died during the month of July than in the four previous months combined.
Florida set a new daily record for coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, as deaths continue to climb while more young people are losing their lives to the virus, an analysis released Tuesday found.

KEY FACTS

The state reported 276 coronavirus deaths Tuesday, breaking the old record of 257 set on July 31.

Younger people have started dying at higher rates recently than earlier in the pandemic, a New York Times analysis of state health data found.

More residents in the 25-44 age group died during the month of July than in the four previous months combined, according to the analysis, and there were more deaths in July from those under the age of 65 than those over 90.

Deaths are continuing to increase in Florida, even as other metrics, like hospitalizations and new cases, are trending downward, though the case decrease has been influenced by the closure of testing centers while Hurricane Isaias passed the state.

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The state reported its lowest daily case increase in seven weeks on Monday.

KEY BACKGROUND

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has continually downplayed the virus’ impact in the state during press briefings, and has said the greatest impacts are largely restricted to the very old. That has been the case through most of the pandemic, but the impact on younger people is increasing, according to the analysis.

CRITICAL QUOTE

"I think Florida is still paying the price for policy decisions made a few months ago with respect to not closing businesses and beaches, or enforcing face masks and social distancing, Steffanie Strathdee, an infectious disease epidemiologist at UC San Diego and author of the medical memoir, “The Perfect Predator,” told Forbes, adding, "Remember, it takes time to flatten the curve, and as former HHS director Donna Shalala said recently, we don’t just need to flatten the curve, we need to CRUSH it. It will take time to see the payoff in the health statistics."

TANGENT

Florida’s death toll Tuesday was among the highest recorded since the initial U.S. coronavirus surge during the spring, which mainly affected the Northeast. The state largely took over the role as the U.S. coronavirus epicenter in late spring and early summer. On July 12, Florida set a national record when it reported over 15,000 new coronavirus cases in a single day.