‘Manageable’: Few Deaths Despite Jump in COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations in Florida, DeSantis Says

The reported rise in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in Florida will likely not lead to a large increase in deaths, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday, pointing to the efficacy of vaccines in preventing severe disease and mortality. “We think the fact that even amidst a lot of positive tests, you still see much less mortality than we did year over year, that’s important,” DeSantis, a Republican, told a press conference about an unrelated issue in Sarasota. Florida reportedly broke its own record of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations in recent days. On Monday, 11,515 patients with COVID-19 were in hospitals across the state, setting another new high, according to a survey conducted by the Florida Hospital Association. About 85 percent of all hospital beds have been filled by COVID-19 or non-COVID patients. New cases fell, coming in at approximately 17,000. DeSantis said hospitalizations will decline, reiterating his view that the virus that causes …