Coronavirus in Orange County: Mayor of Florida County, home of Disney World, sounds the alarm about rising Covid cases

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“These numbers are extraordinary. We’re seeing nearly 1,000 new cases in Orange County every day. Those are the numbers we saw at the highest peak last year,” Mayor Jerry Demings, a Democrat, said Monday during a news conference. “So a thousand days is extraordinary. We are now in a crisis situation.”

Demings urged county residents to get vaccinated, adding: “We, as a community, need to work together to slow the spread of the disease.”

“Residents are still getting vaccinated, but at a slow pace. We need to move the needle faster. 61.59% of Orange County residents age 12 and older have had at least one shot of the vaccine,” he said.

The mayor’s comments come as Florida sees a spike in coronavirus cases, with every county in the state listed as having “high” levels of transmission in the community, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

CNN has reached out to Disney for comment.

Orange County hosts not only Walt Disney World and Universal Studios Orlando Resort, but SeaWorld Orlando as well. Parks have dropped several pandemic-era rules in recent months, including temperature checks for guests. Fully vaccinated guests do not need to wear face masks in parks, and while Universal does require social distancing between visitors, its website says the park encourages “all guests to maintain a safe distance between travel parties.”

Over the past week, Florida has accounted for nearly a quarter of all new cases in the United States — more than any other state.

The state’s case rate over the past week — about 49 new cases per 100,000 people each day — is more than three times the US rate of about 16 new cases per 100,000 people each day. Only Arkansas and Louisiana have had higher rates of cases over the past week.

Florida also reported more Covid-19 deaths than any other state over the past week – a total of 282 over the past week – the sixth-highest per capita death rate in the country.

The state has vaccinated 48.5% of its entire population, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — below the US average of 49.1%.

CNN’s Ralph Ellis and Natasha Chen contributed to this report.

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