“Florida’s resident death toll from coronavirus rose to 21,135 with the addition of 140 more reported fatalities on Saturday, while also adding 17,042 more positive COVID-19 cases to bring the total to 1,264,588.”
“COVID-19 hospitalizations are climbing back up toward mid-July highs of over 8,000. They had fallen to around 2,000 by early October, but passed 5,000 again last week.”
“Florida’s public tally of COVID-19 deaths is now so behind that on some days, nearly half of the deaths reported actually occurred two months earlier, public health data shows.The backlog blurs the full impact of the disease, preventing Floridians from seeing how deeply it’s
ravaging the state.”
On 14 days in December so far, the daily death count reported by the state included deaths that were more than 60 days old, according to data analyzed by Florida public health scientists. If this trend continues, Floridians won’t see the potentially deadly effect of Thanksgiving
gatherings until after New Year’s. They won’t know the full scope of COVID deaths resulting from Christmas parties until after Valentine’s Day.
Public health experts say some delays in reporting are to be expected, but Florida’s lags are extreme.”
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
“Tampa Bay Times reported in 2010 that much of the $100,000 Rubio put on the card counted as personal expenses, including lavish dinners, repairs to his family minivan, and purchases from a wine store near his house. There was even a $6,773 charge for a Rubio family reunion at a
at a Georgia resort.
About a month later, the Rubios qualified for a $135,000 home-equity loan from U.S. Century Bank, which was owned by Rubio’s supporters, because an appraisal valued the home at $735,000 — far above the purchase price.
“The state’s politicians have done little to question the governor or the president. Instead, that chore has fallen into the hands of Rebekah Jones, a feisty 31-year old woman who has accused the governor and state health officials of trying to cover up the actual number of
infections and deaths from the virus, and Daniel Uhlfelder, a Panhandle lawyer who sued the governor in an effort to force closure of overcrowded beaches.”
“More than 21,000 people in the state have died from coronavirus-related illness since the onset of the pandemic. Roughly 23,000 people have died from the coronavirus in California, a state with roughly twice as many people as Florida.”
“The state’s seven-day average daily confirmed case count continues to increase week over week, up to more than 11,000 as of the week 23 December – roughly the same as its summer peak.”
Daniel Uhlfelder, an attorney who filed a lawsuit against DeSantis in March and dressed as the Grim Reaper to spread awareness of the disease on Florida beaches, called Piccolo's comments "disgusting."
"He's responsible for the communication message of the governor," Uhlfelder said. "And he's mocking or downplaying the deaths. It's just inexcusable. I don't know how you justify that. ... This is not a game. These are people that are suffering and dying," the Sentinel reported
DeSantis critic Daniel Uhlfelder, an attorney who had filed a lawsuit against DeSantis in March trying to force beaches to close and a statewide shutdown, called Piccolo’s comments “disgusting.”
“He’s responsible for the communication message of the governor,” Uhlfelder said. “And he’s mocking or downplaying the deaths. It’s just inexcusable. I don’t know how you justify that. ... This is not a game. These are people that are suffering and dying.”
“The Republican governor’s response to the pandemic, in other words, has been a disaster — yet he shows no signs of changing course.”
Meanwhile, on Twitter, the governor has been dubbed “Duh-Santis,” an impressive distinction for a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School. I guess it’s better than his other handle, “DeathSantis.”