In a press conference this afternoon, Orange County Florida Mayor Jerry Demings provided an update on the COVID-19 situation within the county. Demings started by confirming that Orange County is still recording more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per day, on average.
Yesterday, there were 1,409 new cases – 98% of which were among unvaccinated individuals. Demings also said that the county has a 20.83% positivity rate.
Using wastewater analysis, Orange County is experiencing a 600-1000% increase in measurable figures related to predictive COVID-19 surges. The data covers a span of the past 4-11 weeks. Wastewater analysis is used within communities to offer 4-10 day advance notice of COVID-19 case spikes.
In addition to some of the data above, Demings announced that he has extended the local state of emergency for another 7 days. This allows Demings to continue to make decisions and manage the response of Orange County to the COVID-19 surge seen within the community.
Dr. Raul Pino did offer a bit of hope, saying that the county is seeing an increase in demand for the COVID-19 vaccine among its residents – particularly in younger populations who have previously rejected it.
That said, Pino noted that the median age of individuals who die from COVID-19 has dropped from 80.5 years old in October 2020 down to 65 years old in June 2021. This means that younger people within the community are succumbing to COVID-19.
Pino went on to say that officials expect hospitalizations and deaths will continue to increase over the next two weeks.
Within Orange County, 63% of eligible individuals are fully vaccinated.
Get vaccinated: https://www.vaccines.gov/
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!