MIAMI, Fla. – A record week for new COVID-19 cases continued as the latest data showed 75,962 cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control from Florida on Thursday. The latest data reported includes the total number of confirmed cases in Florida since the pandemic at more than 4.1 million.
Numbers continue to climb mostly attributed to a surge from the highly contagious omicron variant.
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Data submitted on Wednesday, Dec. 29, showed 58,013 new cases, but the Miami Herald reported that according to its calculations, Florida had recorded 77,848 new cases. The newspaper said the large increase “comes from the CDC backlogging cases and deaths for Florida on Mondays and Thursdays, when multiple days in the past have their totals changed.” The CDC site still maintains the original number of more than 58,000 reported on Dec. 29.
As a result of outbreaks fueled by omicron, the CDC warned travelers on Thursday to not go on cruises, regardless of their vaccination status. The cruise industry is big business for South Florida.
Carnival Cruise Line spokesman Roger Frizzell told The Associated Press the company has no plans to alter or cancel their cruises following the CDC recommendation. “Our enhanced health and safety protocols have proven to be effective time and time again over the past year,” Frizzell said.
Carnival Corporation is headquartered in Doral.
COVID test kits expiring?
On Thursday, Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried released a statement claiming that the Department of Health has a number of COVID-19 test kits that they are “stockpiling.”
“Given the Governor’s lack of transparency throughout this pandemic, there’s no known public information about these tests or how soon they expire,” Fried said.
As cases continue to rise, the demand for testing kits continues, too. Miami Dade and Broward County were distributing COVID-19 at home testing kits across the area on Friday with some sites running out of the kits by afternoon.
[WHERE CAN I GET TESTED? Testing and vaccination sites in Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties can be found by clicking here.]