About 50 more deaths in the state are being blamed on COVID-19 and a 101-year-old Palm Beach County woman is among the latest in South Florida to die from the coronavirus. Palm Beach County matched its record for most reported new coronavirus deaths in one day and the largest increase in the state, according to data released Thursday by the Florida Department of Health. The Florida Department of Health yesterday announced the deaths of 31 more people in the region, including 16 in Palm Beach County, 13 in Miami-Dade County and two in Broward County. Miami-Dade has a state-high 602 deaths from COVID-19, while Palm Beach has 308 and Broward has 286. Statewide, 48 deaths were reported yesterday, and Florida has recorded 2144 deaths from the virus. Gov. Ron DeSantis offered an explanation for a sudden spike in Florida’s coronavirus numbers attributing the increased numbers to “another big dump of test results: more than 50,000 results with roughly 1,300 new cases.”
Florida received another big dump of test results: more than 50,000 results with roughly 1,300 new cases.
For this batch:
Statewide Positivity: 2.5%
Positivity for initial Phase I counties: 1.66% pic.twitter.com/5ouT6Mb599— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 21, 2020
DeSantis has been criticized by some who feel the state is moving too fast to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. All but the three South Florida counties — Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade — began to reopen May 4 with specific restrictions in place. However, at the request of county commissioners, DeSantis allowed Palm Beach County to join the 64 other counties in the first phase of his reopening plan beginning May 11. The re-opening would have not contributed to the increase in cases as it takes up to 14 days for symptoms to appear after contracting the coronavirus.