Florida reports 151,602 new COVID cases as Biden diagnosis scraps Orlando visit and talk of recession takes spotlight

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida on Friday reported 151,602 cases of COVID-19 over the past two weeks, during which time President Joe Biden tested positive for the virus on July 21, spent five days in isolation and made his first public appearance Wednesday since being diagnosed.

Biden’s plans to visit Orlando and speak at the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives’ annual conference on Monday were derailed, but only slightly. The president did manage to attend the NOBLE conference virtually, where he thanked the organization’s more than 3,000 members and their families for their service and sacrifice to the profession.

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Wednesday, after two negative tests cleared Biden to leave isolation, he spoke in the Rose Garden to advocate COVID-19 booster shots for Americans, saying people can “live without fear” of the virus should they stay cognizant of the protections and treatments now offered to them. That day, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Novavax as a fourth vaccine option for U.S. adults.

Friday, the Biden administration said it had reached a deal with Moderna to buy 66 million doses of bivalent, a COVID-19 vaccine said by the company to target the omicron variant of the virus that’s believed to have infected the president.

Additionally, nearly 800,000 more doses of the two-shot Jynneos vaccine for monkeypox will soon be available in the U.S. as health regulators on Wednesday said some major cities such as San Francisco and New York needed the extra supply to meet demand. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Wednesday there were more than 4,600 cases of monkeypox reported in the U.S. by that time.

Thursday, fears of a nearing recession lost no ground as the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy shrank for a second consecutive quarter, contracting at a 0.9% annual pace. Consumer spending in the U.S. barely outpaced inflation, rising 0.1% May to June, but the Federal Reserve is still expected to temper its interest rate hikes following the troublesome report Thursday of the nation’s falling gross domestic product. The day prior, the Fed on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a point.

Though the National Bureau of Economic Research is formally held to the task of declaring a recession, an economy that has shrunk for two straight quarters meets the informal definition for many. Biden downplayed the latter viewpoint Thursday at a news conference that focused on inflation, where he said near-record-low unemployment and signs of continued business investment in the economy “doesn’t sound like a recession to me.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Below is a breakdown of Florida COVID-19 data reported by the CDC and the state on July 29:

Cases

There were 151,602 new coronavirus cases reported over the last two weeks, broken down as 73,347 this week and 78,255 the week before. Reported cases have held steady in the 70k range since the beginning of June.

Florida has seen 6,789,498 cases since the virus was first detected on March 1, 2020.

Deaths

The Florida Department of Health reported a cumulative death toll in Florida of 77,565. There were 903 fatalities recorded over the past two weeks, which we get by subtracting the number of deaths reported by DOH two weeks ago (76,662) from the current cumulative death toll.

The state stopped reporting the number of non-residents who died in Florida when the new weekly reporting method began.

Hospitalizations

The state Agency for Health Care Administration deleted its current COVID-19 hospitalization database and the state is no longer reporting how many patients have been hospitalized with the virus. However, Florida is still required to report that information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the CDC continues to release that information online. The most recent hospital numbers show 4,087 adult and 79 pediatric patients in Florida.

Positivity rate

The Florida Department of Health reported the percent of positive results from coronavirus tests was 20.7% for the week ending July 28, but did not provide how many people were tested during the past two weeks. Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove a community has a hold of the virus and is curbing infections.

Below is the Central Florida region breakdown of new cases and new vaccination numbers between July 15-28.

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