Last Call for 6.4.20 — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics

Last Call — A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

Ed. note — Sunburn will be taking a day off tomorrow. We will return to your inbox on Monday. Have a great weekend and please stay safe. 

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As protests over George Floyd’s killing continue on cities nationwide, the coronavirus pandemic has taken a back seat, but it hasn’t gone away.

On Thursday, the Florida Department of Health reported 1,419 new cases of coronavirus — the highest daily increase since DOH began reporting data nearly three months ago.

Thursday also marks the second consecutive day with 1,000-plus new cases. The last time DOH reported consecutive four-figure increases since April 16 and 17.

The new cases come alongside 41 deaths, raising the state’s death toll to 2,691, and on the eve of Florida entering Phase Two of reopening, which will allow bars, movie theaters and other previously shuttered businesses to reopen.

The seeming spike, however, could be attributed to a higher volume of testing.

The back-to-back reports from mid-April were tallied across 31,439 tests. The new cases were identified out of a pool of 66,907 tests, resulting in a positivity rate of about 3.5% — about half of the mid-April reports and a couple percentage points lower than DOH’s Monday report.

Whether testing volume is the only variable affecting results is unknown, as is the impact of the protests, where densely packed crowds make social distancing guidelines difficult to adhere to. Any potential spike from the social unrest likely won’t be realized for another couple weeks.

Coronavirus Numbers

Positive cases:

— 58,701 FL residents (+1,408 since Wednesday)

— 1,482 Non-FL residents (+11 since Wednesday)

Origin:

— 2,150 Travel related

— 27,714 Contact with a confirmed case

— 2,063 Both

— 26,774 Under investigation

Hospitalizations:

— 10,652 in FL

Deaths:

— 2,607 in FL

Unemployment numbers

As of Wednesday:

Total claims: 2,291,733

— Confirmed unique claims: 2,097,235

— Claim verification queue: 252,423

— Claims processed: 1,844,812

— Claims paid: 1,201,943 (+13,161 since Tuesday)

Total paid out: $4.25 billion (+$150 million since Tuesday)

Evening Reads

“Donald Trump and the military: A mutual embrace might dissolve on America’s streets” via David E. Sanger of The New York Times

“Lisa Murkowski calls Jim Mattis’s rebuke of Trump true as many Republicans distance themselves from the former defense secretary” via Paul Kane and John Wagner of The Washington Post

“Betting markets (barely) favor Joe Biden in Florida and nationwide” via Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics

“1992 Los Angeles riots: How the George Floyd protests are different” via Ian Lovett of The Wall Street Journal

“Florida officials say feds acted alone in sending riot control team to Miami” via Ryan Nicol of Florida Politics

“Gov. Ron DeSantis says Trump is within his rights to deploy troops to quell protests” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

“Fear, illness and death in ICE detention: How a protest grew on the inside” via Seth Freed Wessler of The New York Times

“As ICE detainee testifies in federal court about COVID-19, unmasked guard is next to him” via Monique O. Madan of the Miami Herald

“Florida Supreme Court kills proposed constitutional amendment to ban assault weapons” via Michael Moline of the Florida Phoenix

“Florida sees highest daily case total, pushing state coronavirus infections past 60,000” via Michelle Marchante and Devoun Cetoute of the Miami Herald

“Florida Forever becomes Florida never in the hands of the Legislature” via Craig Pittman of the Florida Phoenix

“After historic mortgage delinquency in April, forbearance requests start to slow” via Emily L. Mahoney of the Tampa Bay Times

“Should you tap retirement funds in a crisis? Increasingly, people say yes.” via Anne Tergesen and Alice Uribe of The Washington Post

“Sins of the brother: Protesters target St. Pete business owned by Anthony Sabatini’s brother” via Peter Schorsch of Florida Politics

Quote of the Day

“I think that having respect for the rule of law and order in society is just a fundamental thing that has to be respected. I think the President is right to insist on that.” — Gov. Ron DeSantis, agreeing with the President’s plan to quell protests

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