MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – One day after Florida set another record for new COVID-19 cases, Miami-Dade County has set a record of its own.
The Florida Department of Health reported 8,530 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, 2,152 of which came from Miami-Dade County.
The record number was also the first time Miami-Dade eclipsed 2,000 positive cases in one day. Miami-Dade County now has 33,714 confirmed cases and 953 deaths.
[RELATED: See city-by-city numbers from Miami-Dade and Broward counties.]
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis spoke to the media Sunday from the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola to discuss the overall spike in cases, saying younger people are continuing to drive up the numbers.
“You’re seeing it in those groups who are less at risk, but you’re seeing them test positive at much higher rates,” DeSantis said. “I think (ages) 25 to 34 has been pretty close to 20 percent.”
Video of the press conference can be seen below:
Gov. DeSantis press conference - 6/28/20WATCH LIVE: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis provides an update on the COVID-19 pandemic from the Ascension Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola.
Posted by WPLG Local 10 on Sunday, June 28, 2020
The governor also noted the state’s ever-rising positivity rate, something FIU School of Medicine infectious disease expert Aileen Marty, M.D., explained is an obvious indication of increased spread.
“That tells me there’s increased transmission,” said Marty. “This virus is now spreading almost as it was before we ever instituted any other of the public health measures we implemented. And that to me is a crime.”
She believes most of the new transmissions are likely behavior driven, meaning people are not following the guidelines.
When DeSantis asked if he thought that the state had reopened too soon and that had contributed to the rise in cases, he said he did not believe that was a factor. He attributed the state’s spike moreso to people coming together in social gatherings, things like parties and get-togethers, rather than any reopening efforts.