The situation with COVID-19 continues to develop in the United States and around the world.

Disney World Health and Safety Signage | Prior to Recent Mask and Distancing Changes

Recently, we’ve shared updates regarding the COVID-19 case rates in Central Florida, travel considerations and recommendations made by a California health official, and more. Now, we’ve got an update regarding the latest case rates in Florida.

According to Yahoo! News, 4 states accounted for more than 40% of the national COVID-19 cases in the United States during the past week. Yahoo! News shares that data from Johns Hopkins University shows that Florida saw more than 23,000 new COVID-19 cases this week. According to Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, 1 in 5 new COVID-19 cases in the US are now occurring in Florida alone.

In the US overall, daily COVID-19 cases have increased 60% in the last 2 weeks. Yahoo! News reports that this rise in rates has mostly been driven by the Delta variant.

Health and Safety Reminders

The Delta variant of COVID-19 is highly contagious, but cases tend to be milder in vaccinated people. Those who are unvaccinated, though, are much more likely to become severely ill and end up hospitalized.

Previous health and safety signs at Hollywood Studios

“This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Over 97% of people who are entering the hospital right now are unvaccinated.”

According to Yahoo! News, about 47% of the population in Florida is fully vaccinated, while 55% of residents have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Those rates vary between counties, and many of the areas with the lowest rates of vaccinations are the hardest hit by the virus.

Health and Safety Signs in Disney World

But, Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, has shared that states with the highest COVID-19 case rates are seeing vaccination rates increase. This past week, 5 states, including Florida, had a higher rate of individuals getting newly vaccinated when compared to the national average.

COVID-19 Vaccine Being Administered ©The Florida Channel | Courtesy of WTVT

“Importantly, states with the highest case rates are seeing their vaccination rates go up,” he said. “In fact, in the past week, the 5 states with the highest case rates – Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, and Nevada – had a higher rate of people getting newly vaccinated than the national average.”

We’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates regarding COVID-19 cases in Florida. Stay tuned for more news.

Click here to see the latest updates about the potential timeframe for authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 12.

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