Drew Dixon
The number of new coronavirus cases was relatively flat again Monday morning for the First Coast, though two new deaths were added, according to the Florida Department of Health.
Only ten new cases were reported in five Northeast Florida counties, bringing the total to 1,538 with 40 deaths and 215 hospitalizations.
Duval County added one one death, its first since Friday, bringing its total to 19.
Jacksonville’s caseload jumped six Monday to 990. No new deaths or hospitalizations were added.
With numbers continuing to flatten, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is expected to provide more details on economic relief packages for residents and businesses during an afternoon news conference.
Curry also is scheduled to discuss the “next steps” for reopening the city. Curry opened Jacksonville’s beaches and parks April 17 for exercise during limited hours.
Clay County recorded one new death, bringing the total to 14 Monday. The county also added one hospitalization for a total of 57. The county added three new cases or a total of 271.
Baker, Nasaau and St. Johns counties were unchanged.
Statewide, 32,138 cases have been reported including 1,088 deaths and 5,010 hospitalizations.
2 comments
Sam
April 27, 2020 at 1:05 pm
Does anyone really think that viruses are being spread at the beach? Conditions are optimal there to prevent it. Viruses are spread INDOORS. I’m not a doctor but I play one whenever I feel like it. Yet, I am glad animals such as the turtles are getting a brief break from people.
Charles Lammers
April 27, 2020 at 1:56 pm
This virus is serious, lethal, and is not the flu. The Mayor’s response throughout this crisis has been timely and on point. (I am not a Republican, either) I am proud of Jacksonville and our local leadership. In Jax this crisis never became “us vs. them” as it unfortunately has in so many other locales – including Washington D.C. In Jax it seems to me it has always been about saving lives and getting through this together. I supported opening the beaches with the restrictions that were put in place. Most people in Jacksonville have behaved responsibly and I have high hopes for the coming “reopening” as long as it is done in an intelligent and controlled manner, as I fully believe it will be done.
Covid 19 is a serious matter. It is not the flu; such stupid comparisons to previous flu pandemics like in 1968 need to stop. They are irresponsibly ignorant. The lockdowns, including in Jax, were needed to make sure we did not end up like NYC, Italy, China, or Spain with overrun hospitals and needless deaths due to the inability of our health care system to treat so many critically ill patients at once. I am almost 60 and never remember any “flu season” resulting in refrigerated trucks full of dead persons because morgues were full. I never remember medical professionals begging for protective equipment because so many were dying due to infection from treating patients in any previous “flu season.” Leaving everything open would have resulted in South Dakota stupidity where businesses stayed open, hundreds became sick, many died, and they had to close anyway after needless wasteful loss of life and unnecessary hospitalization costs. Staying “open” was worse than the disease.
Jax got it right. I am glad I live here.
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