Surgeon General Murthy “deeply concerned” by increase in COVID-19 cases in Florida

• US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said he was “deeply concerned” about Florida, where COVID-19 cases are on the rise.
• Florida currently leads the country in COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita.
• On Saturday, the state recorded more than 21,000 new infections – a record.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said Monday he was “deeply concerned” about Florida – where COVID-19 cases have reached record levels – and other states where infections are on the rise.

“I am deeply concerned about what is happening in Florida and certainly in many areas of our country with an increase in cases,” Murthy said in an interview on CBS This Morning.

—CBS this morning (@CBSThisMorning) August 2, 2021

Florida currently leads the country in COVID-19 hospitalizations per capita with more than 10,000 coronavirus patients, data shows.

The Sunshine State also hit a one-day high for new coronavirus cases on Saturday with more than 21,000 recorded infections.

“I think what we’re seeing over and over again … with COVID-19 is that it’s going to throw curved balls at us,” Murthy said, explaining that the highly transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus “is the latest curved ball. “.

Murthy added: “And what we need to be prepared to do is increase our vaccination rate while we use mitigation measures, including wearing masks.”

Read more: Internal CDC document warns ‘war has changed’ with more infectious Delta variant

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their mask guidelines and recommended that everyone, regardless of their immunization status, wear face masks indoors in areas with transmission. of coronaviruses is high.

“This is one of the reasons the CDC revised its guidelines last week to encourage the use of masks, because we know it is a powerful way to reduce the spread of the virus while increasing rates of vaccination, ”Murthy said.

Despite the increase in coronavirus cases in Florida, Republican Governor Ron DeSantis last week signed an executive order banning schools across the state from requiring students to wear face masks when they return to class this month .