ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County saw its largest jump in COVID-19 cases in more than a month, adding 136 on Thursday after weeks of stable or decreasing daily numbers.
“We are on our way up, there is no other way to describe it,” Dr. Raul Pino, an Orange County health officer.
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On May 11, Orange County had seven new COVID-19 cases. Exactly a month later, on Thursday, Orange County saw 136 new cases. Pino said he expects those numbers to rise because data has yet to come in for the next three days.
Florida recorded 1,698 new cases on Thursday. That’s the largest single-day increase for the state on record.
The increase in the number of cases has been slow, but recently case gains each day have been in the double digits. On Thursday hit triple digits.
“We have always said that this would happen,” Pino said. “We’ve always said the number of cases will increase as we increase our social activity.”
Pino said 50% of cases are in people between the ages of 20 and 40 years old; the average age is down to 32 years old.
Channel 9 asked Pino how to tell if we’re seeing a second wave.
He said it's difficult to know for sure.
"As I said on the first time, you will know when you hit the wave, the peak, when you are coming down,” Pino said. “And that will be the only time that you will know."
READ: Florida reports nearly 1,700 new COVID-19 cases, 47 additional deaths
He also said proactive testing has led to higher numbers.
Earlier this week, Pino said antibody tests were being counted into that total, contributing to the higher case numbers. But on Thursday he walked that statement back saying he misspoke and that antibody tests are being counted, but not added to the daily new case totals.
Mayor Jerry Demings said to get those case numbers back down, the community needs to once again step up preventative measures like hand washing, social distancing and mask wearing.
He said the recent protests could be a cause for the spike. And although the rate of people testing positive is going up, it’s still lower now than it was during the initial peak.
“If you buy into what we are asking you to do, maybe we can avoid having to shut back down,” Demings said.
Pino said, “Short of a vaccine and a cure, which we don’t have either, we have to learn how to live with the virus.”
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