The Flagler County Health Department recorded 571 confirmed cases of Covid-19 infections in the four days between last Thursday afternoon and midnight Sunday, and expects to record 1,000 cases by Friday, setting a new weekly record since the pandemic started almost two years ago.
Infection numbers are surging across Florida, but in a 50-minute news conference this morning, Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo not only projected a business-as-usual approach, but said testing protocols will be revised toward less testing, with testing and treatment focused on higher-risk patients, while schools are to remain open and operating under previously relaxed guidelines that de-emphasize quarantines, masking and distancing.
DeSantis not once recommended vaccination, focusing instead on monoclonal treatment, inaccurately said vaccines are ineffective in the face of omicron and ridiculed masking–he mischaracterized masking’s effectiveness–during his appearance in Broward this morning. Ladapo said “we need to unwind this testing, sort of planning on living one’s life around testing.” DeSantis said Floridians “vote with their feet.”
Local residents have been voting for testing. The Flagler Health Department’s covid-testing operation at the county airport has been as busy as during last summer’s surge. “The demand for testing has exploded,” Bob Snyder, who heads the health department, said. “More people are interested in getting tested than getting vaccinated, and of course we are doing our best to accommodate by appointment only at the airport. We’re going to be testing every single day this week, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. till noon.” On the Wednesday before New Year’s Eve alone, 180 people got tested. One out of four person is testing positive.
The surge is driven by covid’s Omicron variant, a far more infectious but, by some indications so far, less deadly variant that primarily affects the upper respiratory system rather than the lungs. But because the variant is affecting so many more people, the hospitalization numbers are still alarming, if not yet in Florida. Hospitalizations are reaching summer peaks in the country as a whole: the seven-day average on Jan. 2 totaled over 97,000 people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of covid nationally, all but matching the summer peak, according to Our World in Data.
In Flagler, the latest figures for hospitalizations on a primary diagnosis of Covid at AdventHealth Palm Coast date back to last Thursday, when the hospital had seven covid patients. Snyder in an interview this morning said the department has been unable to update the figure since. An AdventHealth spokesperson this afternoon said that while the Flagler-specific number was not available, there were 95 patients admitted on a primary diagnosis of covid at Advent’s hospitals in Flagler and Volusia combined.
At 5 p.m., Snyder reported an updated figure: 17 patients at AdventHealth Palm Coast today on a covid diagnosis, up from seven last Thursday.
The surge is occurring just as public schools in Flagler and across Florida are preparing to welcome back students. Faculty returned to Flagler schools today for two days of training. Students return on Wednesday. A Flagler district spokesman said the same back-to-school protocols in place last semester will be followed this semester. A meeting between health department officials and school district officials was scheduled for noon today. It was cancelled.
The health department is expecting new guidelines on testing and quarantines from Ladapo imminently. Meanwhile, Snyder said–and in compliance with current guidelines from the state health department–the Centers for Disease Control’s recommendations still apply.
“The data and the science does back up the fact that Omicron is less severe overall, but it is very, very contagious, more so than any other variant,” Snyder said. He underscored the continued importance of vaccination. “The reason why it’s important to get vaccination, to get boosted, is for those individuals who are immunocompromised, have chronic conditions, are obese, as examples. People who have had organ transplants, people who are elderly with chronic conditions, those are the ones that are most likely to end up in the hospital, whether it’s Omicron or any other strain and variant because it’s so contagious. It’s so easy for a younger person, a healthier person to pass it on. The whole idea is to protect our elderly citizens, to protect those who you know, are in that that state that I just mentioned, the chronic conditions, immunocompromised cancer patients, people who are transplant patients. These are the ones who we should be concerned about.”
For now in the region and in the state, Snyder said, there is no shortage of beds–as there is in other parts of the country. But Florida’s surge began only three weeks ago, and there has always been a lag between surges in infections and surges in hospitalizations.
The only boosting message from the governor and the surgeon general today, however, was to the state’s image. “I think it’s also just important to point out in terms of of Florida, you look what’s going on in other states,” DeSantis said. “They’re letting hysteria drive them to doing really damaging things. We thought that people had learned. They’re closing schools, they’re doing things that should not be done. And that is not the way you deal with this. And so, you know, we are 100 percent committed to making sure that people are able to live their lives, that our kids are able to get an education, that people’s businesses are able to operate and that people have jobs, and so that is just non negotiable.”
DeSantis spoke repeatedly about making monoclonal antibody treatment available–and repeatedly criticized the federal government for either standing in the way or monopolizing the supplies.
He also made several inaccurate or misleading statements.
“The vaccinations are not preventing infections,” he said. While it is true that vaccines offer far less defense against infection from Omicron than against previous variants (the Pfizer vaccine’s effectiveness against it is down to 30 percent according to a recent study from South Africa, where the variant is believed to have originated) vaccines are still very effective at what they’re intended for: preventing serious illness and death. By calling vaccines ineffective against infections, DeSantis was undermining the campaign for vaccination and overlooking the vaccines’ ultimate aim.
The governor was also grossly misleading regarding masks. DeSantis said: “You even see some of these TV doctors on CNN admitting the cloth masks are not going to stop, protect against Omicron. This is an aerosolized pathogen. It’s airborne. And so if you have a piece of cloth, it’s not going to protect. The thought of the cloth was if it was primarily through respiratory droplets. So we’re going to let parents make those decisions.” The governor was referring to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen who, on Christmas Eve, said that “Cloth masks are little more than facial decorations. There’s no place for them in light of Omicron.” But DeSantis ignored Wen’s fuller directive: “This is what scientists and public health officials have been saying for months, many months, in fact. We need to be wearing at least a three-ply surgical mask,” referring to disposable masks routinely sold in pharmacies and many retail outlets. “You can wear a cloth mask on top of that, but do not just wear a cloth mask alone.”
“If you really want no exposure, you have to wear the right type of mask,” Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, told the Wall Street Journal. “Dr. Gandhi recommends N95 masks, which are certified in the U.S., or the KN95, KF94 and FFP2 masks, which are certified in China, South Korea and Europe respectively. If those aren’t available, she recommends double masking—a multilayered cloth mask tightly on top of a surgical mask. Surgical masks are made of polypropylene, which has electrostatic charge characteristics that block the virus.”
Regarding hospital admissions, he said: “Looking to see who is being admitted for Covid versus who may be admitted with Covid is going to be important to really chart the severity of what we’re seeing.” But hospitals have always made the distinction between those admitted with a “primary diagnosis of covid” versus those admitted for other reasons, and who happen to be infected.
The surgeon general said Florida can expect significant changes ahead in how the state sees the covid pandemic: “So my department’s goal is going to be to put out testing that doesn’t restrict access to testing, but reduces the use of low value testing, and prioritizes high value testing. And what do we mean by that? So high value testing is testing that’s likely to change outcomes. So, if your grandmother gets a test, that’s a much higher, much more valuable test, than the 8-year-old third graders that Los Angeles County is sending to get weekly testing. The first one is much more likely to change outcomes. So we’re going to be putting out guidance that puts more emphasis on that. And we’re going to be working to unwind the sort of testing psychology that our federal leadership has managed to, unfortunately, get much–most of the country in over the last two years. We need to unwind this testing sort of planning and living one’s life around testing. Without it, we’re going to be sort of stuck in the same cycle. So you know, it’s really time for people to be living, to make the decisions they want regarding vaccination, to enjoy the fact that many people have natural immunity. And to unwind this sort of–this preoccupation with only Covid as determining the boundaries and constraints and possibilities of life. And we’re going to start that in Florida.”
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Jimbo99 says
If people only knew how futile this is to contain even. The water supply is contaminated. I’m on record back when this all started in 2020 that the water supply would be tested to monitor Covid. Every time a toilet is flushed, Covid spreads and becomes airborne in any home simply because it’s the same science principles the fecal bacteria is airborne in anyone’s homes. They can’t remove it from the water. Once the water system has been compromised & contaminated. We’ve probably been living with Covid for decades of our lives. Back to the experts not discovering Covid, much more testing for it prior to 2020.
Biden lied to us about getting the Virus under control, the experts (Fauci in particular) have lied to us. Neither one of them has told the truth from the first time anyone had it brought to their attention. Compare the death tolls, if those are even accurate & not fabrications to defraud & bilk a Federal relief program. 2020 deaths = 2021 deaths, with or without a vaccine. And the survival rate for US Population is the same regardless of variant. 99.7% of the US Population has survived Covid over the last 2 years (1 million/330 million X 100). Break that down by variant & 99.9+ % of the US Population survived each variant if 3 of the 4 variants, perhaps even more waves are averaged separately. At the end of the day here Fauci claims the gold standard for any vaccine is 97% effective. With no vaccines, 99.9% (400K/330M x 100) of the US Population survived a contaminated water supply at the very least. Fauci & Science is clinging to Covid, any variant along the way because it pays them quite well to keep it going as a grant/study.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wastewater-samples-reveal-record-levels-covid-19-us-rcna10451
https://biobot.io/data/
https://www.popsci.com/poop-is-everywhere/
Jimbo99 says
And as for the 1 million deaths of 2020 & 2021 attributed to Covid, I overstated that generously by 175K, to date 2020 & 2021 deaths are 825K.
One step at a time says
Jimbo, the water that comes out of your faucet in your home is not wastewater. It is not recycled wastewater.
The water we drink is from the Aquifer. The aquifer is not connected to our sewer system which is where waste goes when you flush.
In addition, if you merely close your toilet lid before you flush, it prevents the germs from spewing forth into your bathroom.
The city is looking for covid levels in wastewater in order to test for the prevalence of the virus in the area because if someone has Covid then it is also in their feces. It goes into the sewer, not the drinking water.
I hope this helps.
The dude says
It won’t.
You can’t reason a person out of a position they didn’t reason themselves into.
Steve says
“It’s under control and be gone by Spring” and you accuse others of lies Well alrighty then. Fauci is telling People to get vaccinated, wear a mask and Social distance, not shoot up bleach or put ultraviolet light, dewormer or anything else in the body. Selective memory
Bill Green says
Sad commentary on our state and our country when supposedly responsible people like De Santis and his puppet surgeon general ignore safety protocols and guidelines to the detriment of their constituency. Making matters worse, they pontificate lies and deceptions to further endanger the public health and public safety of our citizens. Despite the highest number of cases since the pandemic’s inception, the power driven DeSantis doubles down on complacency as he perpetuates his do-nothing “business as usual” stance …… “and Nero fiddles as Rome burns!”
Ray W. says
I have to give credit where credit is due. I am channeling Pogo as I type this quote from Karl Popper (one of the great advocates of the philosophy of science): “True ignorance is not the absence of knowledge, but the refusal to acquire it.” It appears probable that our governor and his surgeon general are truly ignorant, though it cannot be ruled out that either or both of them are malicious in their denial of the effectiveness of vaccines and masks.
Popper’s theory of empirical falsification is provided the basis for my previous comments about the fallacy supporting the scientifically unreliable Shaken Baby Syndrome. Based on published studies, many State experts will testify under oath to this day that children must fall from a height of seven stories to suffer injuries consistent with those inflicted by mothers who engage in activities described by the Shaken Baby Syndrome. Indeed, one such doctor said exactly that in his deposition in a first-degree murder prosecution brought against a young Flagler County mother when her daughter presented to his team at a Jacksonville hospital with a subdural hematoma, bilateral retinal hemorrhaging and bruising to her scalp above the bone. When I discovered that he and his team of specialists had also treated another infant who had presented with identical injuries who had died after a short-distance fall that had been video-recorded by a grandmother, I brought the case to his attention, even to the extent of obtaining the infant’s autopsy report for his review. After the doctor reviewed both the autopsy report and his medical file for that second infant, he told me that he had to change his deposition testimony in my case, for he now knew that a child could die from a short-distance fall, in contradiction to the published Shaken Baby Syndrome theory. Since science requires the rejection of previously accepted scientific theories when empirical proof is developed that proves the prior theory false (empirical falsification), the doctor then testified in trial that the mother’s explanation of what happened was consistent with the injuries presented to the specialized team when her daughter was brought to the hospital. The jury found the mother not guilty.
Ben Hogarth says
I always enjoy reading your replies as they are an incredible window into the court process. Equally admirable are your philosophical and historical references, which we so rarely ever discuss in civil debate anymore (particularly online forums like this). I think any reasonable person can agree that the Governor’s actions are at best, negligent (dereliction of duty?), but his desire to rewrite science and history are all the more concerning preludes of what many fear to have undertones of a more autocratic form of government (misfeasance or malfeasance?).
I remember when Dr. Rivkees was first appointed Surgeon General and I (like many others) applauded the appointment as a rational choice. However, we all should have seen by now the way in which Dr. Rivkees was treated by this administration – essentially censored from reporting all of the COVID-19 facts and information. His ousting was little more than an overdue ‘burn notice’ from a Governor who prefers to elevate himself through rhetoric and populism than right the course of all Floridians by fulfilling his oath and putting the public trust first. Naturally, the next appointment for Surgeon General was NOT a rational one by any stretch of the imagination.
Who needs empirical falsification when you have empirical manipulation and manufacturing? Anyone who has read “Mein Kampf” knows the power of sewing lies by starting with a kernal of truth, and repeating the lie over and over and over again – until it roots so firmly, that what started as an idea from one man, is now an inception among the masses. In the early 2000’s we had absurd slogans like “freedom fries” paving the way for the signing of the Patriot Act and unfettered, unrestrained executive authority. In 2020 and beyond, its once again the beguiled cry of “freedom” that allows tyrants to convince the masses they are “fighting” to secure it for them. And all that comes from it, is more injury and suffering for all.
I’ve always relished saying that ‘ignorance is a state of being, but stupidity is the willful choice to remain so.’ Everyday I wake up, I see masses of people choose ignorance over knowledge, belief over science, and convenience over conviction. With so much effort by so many to do so little and thereby undo the virtue of true liberty (of the mind), who needs masterful tyrants?
Indeed, the age of the rejection of truth is here to stay for some time. The manipulation of COVID-19 information, the absurd claims made about science and vaccines, and the desire for absolution in the face of a rich tradition and history of representative government may very well be our undoing – if not with COVID-19, then with the next crisis. The die is cast.
Michael Cocchiola says
Think of it this way. DeSantis and his toady, “Dr.” Ladapo only speak to and for their base… those uber-conservative and evangelical know-nothings who drink their Clorox, take their ivermectin, then crowd into our school board meetings to threaten those that speak of COVID with knowledge. So DeSantis and Labado will not deter the great majority of citizens that listen to medical experts and follow recommended guidelines to protect themselves and their families and friends.
Now the good news. Our hospitals will be filled overwhelmingly with sick know-nothings who will suck on ventilator tubes while repenting their madness and demanding vaccinations.
“the mills of gods grind slowly but they grind exceeding fine”
Deborah Coffey says
Yes, and I’m sure Dr. Ladapo took an oath not to deliberately kill people, as did the governor.
A.j says
Sound like Trump. People believe this crazy nonsense. I’m vaccinated, bolstered and ewar my mask. Trump called a Dem. Hoax, the hoax made him sick thank God. I didn’t hear him call it a hoax anymore. DeSantis need a visit from the hoax. Millions voted for this Trump puppet. A lot of them will die from covid. People need to think for themselves.
LetsBeReal says
Factcheck.org: “Trump did use the word ‘hoax’ but his full comments, and subsequent explanation, make clear he was talking about Democratic attacks on his administration’s handling of the outbreak, not the virus itself.”
The Washington Post Fact Checker: “The context of the full quote shows Trump criticized Democratic talking points and media’s coverage of his response to the coronavirus, but does not call the virus itself a hoax.”
Snopes: “Despite creating some confusion with his remarks, Trump did not call the coronavirus a hoax.”
AP Fact Check: “The accusation is misleading. So is the selective video editing that made it appear Trump was calling the coronavirus a ‘new hoax.’”
A.j says
What you are saying maybe true. I heard him call it a Dem. Hoax.
deb says
Well AJ a lot of my Democratic friends who failed to take the vaccine have died also or will have lifelong lingering side effects. And you are correct people need to really think from themselves and get their heads out of the medias butt and do what they feel is right for themselves and not because a political hero or some flip flop medical expert has told them so.
Pogo says
@A.j
“…People need to think for themselves.” Well said, and so true — but weak thinkers, i.e., trumpholes, like weak swimmers, drown when an undertow of lies grabs them:
KHN & PolitiFact HealthCheck
Lie of the Year: The Downplay and Denial of the Coronavirus
By Daniel Funke, PolitiFact and Katie Sanders, PolitiFact
“A Florida taxi driver and his wife had seen enough conspiracy theories online to believe the virus was overblown, maybe even a hoax. So no masks for them. Then they got sick. She died…”
https://khn.org/news/article/lie-of-the-year-the-downplay-and-denial-of-the-coronavirus/
All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus
An unfinished compendium of Trump’s overwhelming dishonesty during a national emergency
By Christian Paz
“President Donald Trump has repeatedly lied about the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s preparation for this once-in-a-generation crisis.
Here, a collection of the biggest lies he’s told as the nation endures a public-health and economic calamity. This post will be updated as needed…”
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2020/11/trumps-lies-about-coronavirus/608647/
“People who believe that they are strong-willed and the masters of their destiny can only continue to believe this by becoming specialists in self-deception.”
― James Baldwin, Giovanni’s Room
LetsBeReal says
Fact check: Biden makes false claims about Covid-19, auto prices and other subjects at CNN town hall
https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/22/politics/fact-check-biden-cnn-town-hall-july/index.html
maria davis says
This is bull you can’t even get tested in this county tried for a week to get tested none to be had.
marlee says
and….
What’s with Florida’s Surgeon General Lapado ??
As Covid cases surge in Florida…
He says: “People are planning and living their lives around testing but said it was “really time for people to be living, to make the decisions they want regarding vaccination, to enjoy the fact that many people have natural immunity.”
What?!
Cynthia says
Lapado is a quack and an embarrassment to the medical community. I no longer feel bad when an unvaccinated Floridian dies from COVID. Harsh reality.
Ray W. says
Dr. Lapado and Governor DeSantis present themselves to the public as leaders who have chosen to lead from behind. The natural immunity theory they espouse requires, first, exposure to the virus and the naturally cascading potential effects on one’s health and, second, use of monoclonal antibody treatment early enough in the infection phase to minimize the naturally cascading potential effects brought on by the skyrocketing spread of the omicron variant of the virus. Unfortunately, it appears that only one of the three available monoclonal antibody treatments currently available effectively blunt the impact of the omicron variant; the other two appear to be barely useful as a treatment option. Fortunately, the omicron variant appears to more readily attach to cells lining the mouth and nasal cavity, instead of cells lining the lungs (delta variant), thereby limiting the overall rate of hospitalization and death arising from infection by the omicron variant.
If Dr. Lapado and Governor DeSantis were to decide to lead from the front, they would advocate (daily) for widespread acceptance of the vaccines and masking and social distancing where appropriate, without resorting to mandates. That way, they can still advocate for both treatment by use of monoclonal antibodies for those who become infected by whatever variant that is still out there spreading from person to person and for natural immunity for those for whom vaccination is not recommended due to their current medical conditions. Leading from the front lessens the possibility of a person infected with the viral disease after vaccination (breakthrough infections) waiting too long for monoclonal antibody treatment to be as effective as possible and it improves the probability that one will not develop the more severe symptoms of a disease that too often leads to hospitalization, use of artificial breathing devices, and death. Win, win! The bonus is that leading from the front is supported by empirical data. Triple win!
Ben Hogarth says
Let us not forget the fact that Regeneron contributed very very generously to Governor DeSantis’ campaign coffers in the sum of millions around the same time the decision was made by DeSantis to prioritize early treatment therapy with their product than to mitigate disaster with temporary (controversial) social policies.
If elected officials are no longer representatives of the public trust, but rather leading spokepersons and policy drivers within our public institutions for their private benefactors – why bother with government at all? We can just have Tesla and Amazon and Wal Mart pass laws here. God knows Boeing and Lockheed have written plenty in Washington.
And if the line between good faith public policy and quid pro quo favors continues to blur, it really won’t matter much how many lives we save from Covid-19 for the ruin of democracy will cloud all else.
Timothy Patrick Welch says
As the severity of symptoms dissipate and life finally return to normal lets remember abortion is the greatest loss of life in America.
Some would have you believe smoking, or police brutality, or breast cancer, or racism, nope its abortion.
My heart goes out to those whom has experience a loss.
Sherry A Epley says
Happy New Year from wonderful Merida, Mexico,
We feel much safer here than in the US . . . especially Florida.
100% of all people in the streets are wearing masks. To enter a shop or restaurant you “must” be masked and have your temp taken, you also must put disinfectant on your hands and walk through a tray of disinfectant to clean the bottom of your shoes. Even those sitting outside in restaurants wear their masks when not actively eating or drinking. “Everyone” is cooperating. . . what a concept!