ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida coronavirus cases are down 84% since the last week of August, and the state’s positivity rate is now at a point that health officials have been striving for.
In Orange County, Mayor Jerry Demings said once the positivity rate is under 5% for a substantial period of time, he will end the state of emergency the county has been under since July 28.
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In Florida, all coronavirus metrics are going down and cases, hospitalizations and deaths are all decreasing.
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For the first time in three months, Florida’s seven-day coronavirus positivity rate is below 5%.
“We are doing a good job in the state of pushing the delta variant out,” data scientist Dr. Eric Solomon said. “The positivity rates are pretty even across all counties and they’re all dropping.”
Health officials say a positivity rate below 5% for an extended period of time shows control of the virus. Demings said he wants to see the county below 5% for 14 days.
So how did we get here, and what led to the decrease incase count and positivity rate?
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“There’s been a lot of vaccinations that have been performed, and a lot of people have contracted the virus,” Solomon said. “You see less because there’s less individuals available for the virus to infect.”
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