Coronavirus cases spike in the United States, and experts say the next epicenter in the pandemic could be Florida.
An ambulance is seen in a main highway, as Miami-Dade County eases some of the lockdown measures put in place during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Miami, Florida, U.S., June 18, 2020.
According to CBS Miami, Florida saw the largest jump in new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, June 18, with at least 3,200 new cases in just 24 hours. The state currently has almost 86,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, and more than 3,000 people have died, Florida's Department of Health added.
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The worst it has ever been
Projections were revealed in a model compiled by a team of scientists at Philadelphia's Children's Hospital and the University of Pennsylvania, as reported by CNN. The predictions show that the Sunshine State has "all the signs of the next big coronavirus transmission epicenter," and risk being "the worst it has ever been."
In a statement, Dr. David Rubin of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said previous models were accurate and that communities "might reopen if they take a careful and cautious approach."
Rubin, who serves as director of PolicyLab at CHOP, told CNN the mortality doubling time lose control of the epidemic could start very easily.
He said model predictions correlated with actual cases in Florida and confirmed by hospitalizations from various parts of the state.
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"The potential for the virus to take off there is very, very nerve-racking and could have catastrophic consequences" because of the state's aging population and the prevalence of nursing homes and retirement communities, said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
What are the factors?
Florida joins nine other states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, and Texas. A Johns Hopkins University data shows the record-high seven-day averages of new coronavirus cases every day.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to WTVT, attributed the recent rises in the state to the monitoring of "high-risk" individuals such as farmworkers in rural areas, inmates, and long-term care residents. However, he noted that long-term care cases were unchanged.
Other state officials attributed the spike in cases to more monitoring and other factors, CNN wrote. Epidemiologists suggest that case reports will go down with higher testing because health authorities can potentially track the cases and delay the spread of the virus.
In new cases, twenty-one states are seeing a growing trend. Health officials continue to stress the importance of taking measures to minimize the outbreak, the study says.
'Cusp of losing control'
Former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC that some states are now seeing a resurgence in cases that are "on the cusp of losing control."
"These are outbreaks. We're seeing doubling times now falling under 10 days," Gottlieb said on CNBC's "Squawk Box."
While the cases are on the "cusp of losing control," Gottlieb said these states still have a week or two to take actions to try to get these under control.
He added he's worried about "the lack of political will" for officials to continue enforcing established measures such as social distancing and wearing masks.
"Unless we get comfortable taking some common-sense measures, where we can, some limited measures, we're going to be stuck with a lot more spread," Gottlieb added.
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