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Coronavirus U.S. & World

If Florida was another country, there might be a travel ban, expert says

Florida’s COVID-19 case numbers have climbed to new heights

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
SHARE If Florida was another country, there might be a travel ban, expert says
Lights are illuminated at an empty LIV nightclub Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, in Miami Beach, Fla.

Lights are illuminated at an empty LIV nightclub Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2020, in Miami Beach, Fla. LIV is offering free COVID-19 vaccines outside the Miami club where high rollers spend up to $20,000 just for a table. Young people are rapidly filling up Florida hospitals as the delta variant rapidly spreads across Florida.

Lynne Sladky, Associated Press

Florida’s COVID-19 cases have climbed so much that it has become one of the worst spots for the coronavirus in the world, according to Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor at the George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

Reiner told CNN over the weekend that Florida has had one of the worst outbreaks globally.

  • “The viral load in Florida is so high right now, there are really only two places on the planet where it’s higher,” he said, adding that Louisiana and the country of Botswana are the other two locations.
  • “It’s so high in Florida that I think if Florida were another country, we would have to consider banning travel from Florida to the United States.”

Reiner said Florida Gov. Ron De Santis has “painted himself into a corner” by being opposed to any mask mandates or COVID-19 restrictions, per HuffPost.

  • “People are dying in Florida. It’s going to get much worse,” Reiner said.

Indeed, Florida has become a major epicenter for the novel coronavirus in recent days. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the state had 23,903 new COVID-19 cases on Friday alone — which was the highest number for the state since the beginning of the pandemic.

And, according to NPR, data from the Department of Health and Human Services found that Florida’s inpatient beds had reached 83% occupancy. In fact, NPR reported that 13,793 COVID-19 patients made up 24% of Florida’s inpatient beds as of Sunday.