When will we see the impact of Thanksgiving on COVID-19 cases in Florida?

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JACKSONVILLE, Florida – In the past two days, Florida has seen an increase of 17,344 cases of COVID-19 and the state could reach one million cases by Monday.

But what happened during the Thanksgiving holiday is not included in these numbers.

Infectious disease expert Dr Mohammed Reza says around Christmas we will see how far the virus is spreading.

“Everything we did this weekend will not come through today or tomorrow,” said Dr Reza. “You have to wait about three to four weeks.”

The Regency Square Mall COVID-19 test site reopened Friday after being closed for Thanksgiving.

People tested at the site told News4Jax they had to wait about an hour to get tested, and the lines weren’t as long in the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

The pandemic hasn’t stopped people from traveling for the holidays, and some were not interested in getting tested in advance to see if visiting family was wise.

Dr Reza said the holiday will expose thousands of more cases in the coming weeks.

“There is concern that all of these people are traveling and, as I said before, this is a delicate virus. You are asymptomatic, which means you have no symptoms for 72 hours and you are quite contagious with this virus, so you infect your loved ones (and) they don’t even know you have the virus, ”he said. -he declares.

Reza recommended those who have traveled out of town and want to get tested to wait around five to seven days after exposure to have a higher positivity rate. Meanwhile, he says you should quarantine yourself, even if you know a family member who tested positive after the holidays.

We asked News4Jax viewers if they are planning to get tested after traveling for the holidays.

While some people said they were traveling, reunited with their families and would not be tested, others said they were staying at home with their families and would not be tested. unless they are showing symptoms.

Dr Reza said anyway, we have to be on the lookout for the spread of the virus.

“The problem is that the numbers show that we are going back into the second peak of Covid and that may be worse than the first peak of all measures giving winter, the cooler months that are coming,” he said.

Dr Reza said that while not everyone will get sick from the virus or even have symptoms, 1 to 2% of people will get sick and eventually die from it.

He stressed the importance of following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in wearing masks and practicing social distancing to limit the spread before the next vacation.

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