JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville recorded its 19th coronavirus-related death Monday as officials strategize ways to slowly reopen the city’s economy.
The latest Duval County death was an 80-year-old woman who had contact with a COVID-19 patient, according to the Florida Department of Health. The same was true of a 76-year-old Clay County man who died.
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Those were among 14 new deaths reported by the Department of Health in the past 24 hours, bringing Florida’s death toll to 1,088.
As of Monday morning, 32,138 people in Florida have tested positive for COVID-19, 5,010 of whom have been hospitalized with the respiratory illness at some point. That’s compared to the 31,528 cases and 4,957 hospitalizations reported Sunday.
In Northeast Florida, a total of 2,107 cases and 47 deaths have been confirmed across 11 counties. With 990 positive tests and 19 deaths, Duval County remains the hardest hit. Despite having 700-plus fewer cases, Clay County has now recorded 14 deaths.
Over 357,000 tests have been administered in Florida since early March, according to the health department. The vast majority of tests (90.8%) have had negative results, 565 were inconclusive and 1,099 are pending. No data on the number of recoveries has been provided.
During a Monday news conference, Mayor Lenny Curry said he is contemplating the most appropriate way for Jacksonville’s retail businesses and restaurants to begin resuming operations. He said the city has already met some of the federal criteria laid out for cities to reopen.
With Jacksonville’s testing and transmission rates trending in the right direction, the mayor said he would monitor new data this week to help inform the city’s next steps. While Curry said restaurants should begin preparing to reopen their dining rooms, he ruled out large events for the time being.
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“We can’t stay home for six more months and this is probably going to be with us for six more months,” Curry said. “The safest way forward is to get people back to work with social distancing, encourage telework — working from home — masking when you’re in grocery stores, getting essentials and whatnot, and staying away from heavily populated, dense settings where people are around each other for extended periods of time.”
Despite dropping a hint Sunday about an upcoming announcement, Gov. Ron DeSantis did not announce concrete steps Monday for the state’s economy to restart. He also did not specify when he will lift Florida’s stay-home order, which is set to expire on Thursday.
“I’d rather do it smartly and safely and methodically," DeSantis said. "Even if you could flip the switch, if people don’t have confidence, then the economy is not just going to take off. It’s not the way it works.”