15,300

15,300. That’s the number that came across my phone. 15,300 cases are of Coronavirus in a single day in Florida. That’s the highest single day total for any state since the pandemic began.

In the last week alone, Florida has reported nearly 70,000 new cases.

At this point, we all probably know someone who has it.

Maybe they are a little sick; maybe they are very sick; maybe they don’t feel sick at all; maybe they don’t even know it (That’s the the most frightening of all to me. They are walking around with it and don’t know it.)

Whatever the case, Florida is now the epicenter of Coronavirus.

15,300. My phone lit up with that number. Pick the website. New York Times, Washington Post, Tampa Bay Times, Fox 13. All of them reporting this grim milestone.

But, for whatever reason, fewer people are dying.

Maybe it’s that more younger people are getting coronavirus and have a better ability to fight it… Maybe…

There’s also the fact that more people are being tested.  Certainly, more testing has a lot to do with the increased number of positive cases. Nonetheless, it’s still alarming.

15,300. We heard this number the same day that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos vowed to push for reopening schools. On Fox News Sunday, she told Chris Wallace, “Kids have got to get back to school.”

Florida schools are set to open in August. Open five days a week.

I get it. The “in-school” learning experience is said to be better for most kids than virtual learning. But at this point in time, is it safer? For the teachers? For the kids? For the parents?

We can speculate all day about how Florida found itself in this really awful situation. Did we reopen too soon? Did we require the most affective social distancing and masks regulations? Or, is it just our turn to be the epicenter? Honestly, I don’t know.

The Washington Post quotes Natalie Dean from the University of Florida.  She is a an assistant professor for biostatistics.  “With Florida largely open for business, I don’t expect this surge to slow.”

So, what can we do? We can try and mitigate the damage. Does that mean we go back into quarantine? Maybe. Can our economy handle it? Maybe not.

15,300. That’s the number the news will be reporting for a while. It’s a record—until it’s broken. At this point, I fear it will be.