Fauci backs new mask guidelines as Florida reports highest single-day total of Covid cases | Florida

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US government’s leading infectious disease expert, said on Sunday that wearing masks to combat high rates of the Covid-19 virus was a “responsibility to society” — even Florida, whose Republican governor has banned mask-use mandates, set a record for daily cases. new.

The 21,683 new coronavirus cases reported Saturday were Florida’s highest single-day total since the pandemic began, a day after Ron DeSantis signed an executive order banning school districts from requiring employees and students to wear masks.

DeSantis, an ally of Donald Trump, has publicly clashed with Fauci and deducted data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics that support masks in schools.

“The federal government has no right to tell parents that in order for their children to go to school in person, they must be forced to wear a mask all day, every day,” DeSantis said in a press release announcing the order.

However, on Sunday, with Florida as the new national epicenter for the virus, and the state’s theme parks once again requiring guests to wear masks indoors, Fauci urged the public to follow the CDC’s advice on masks to help limit the spread of the severe delta variant. infection. .

“You understand people’s feeling that they have the individual right to make their own decisions, and I certainly respect that, but the problem is, if you’re going to be part of someone else’s transmission chain, your decision affects someone else,” Fauci told CBS Face of the Nation.

“It doesn’t just affect you, you have to think about it that you are a member of the community and that you have a responsibility.”

Vaccinated people can carry high levels of the virus and easily pass the infection on to unvaccinated ones, data that prompted the CDC to amend its guidelines and recommend that those vaccinated wear masks indoors in certain areas.

“If you get the infection between vaccinated individuals and it never spreads to anyone else, you won’t worry. If they come home to a vulnerable person in the house, children or the elderly, there should be no problem,” Fauci said.

But we now know that they can be transmitted when they develop a supernatural infection, despite having little or no symptoms. We know they can do it. We know the automated reason for this is that the virus level is high, so you want to make sure they don’t get infected. This is the primary basis for the CDC’s amendment and guidance.”

Florida now accounts for about a fifth of all new cases in the United States where the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading. The latest numbers were recorded on Friday and released Saturday on the CDC website.

The numbers show how quickly cases are rising: Just a day ago, Florida reported 17,093 new daily cases. The previous peak was 19,334 cases reported on January 7, before vaccinations spread.

The state reported 409 deaths this week, bringing the total to more than 39,000 since March 2020. The peak occurred in mid-August 2020, when 1,266 people died over seven days. Deaths usually come after an increase in hospitalizations for a few weeks.

DeSantis blamed the seasonal increase — more Florida residents being indoors due to hot weather with air conditioning spreading the virus. About 60% of Florida’s population age 12 and older is vaccinated, putting it roughly halfway between the states.

The Florida Hospital Association said Covid-19 hospitalizations across the state were nearing a peak last year, and advised one of the state’s largest health care systems, AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division, that it would not perform non-emergency surgeries in order to free up resources for Covid- 19 patients.

Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld on Saturday became the latest theme park resort to once again require visitors to wear masks indoors, and Universal also asked staff to wear face coverings to protect against Covid-19.

All workers at Universal’s Florida park are required to wear masks while indoors and practice social distancing. The Harry Potter and Despicable Me ride home has also asked visitors to follow federal and local health guidelines by voluntarily wearing face coverings indoors.

“The health and safety of our guests and team members is always our top priority,” Universal said.

SeaWorld posted on its website that it recommends visitors wear face coverings while indoors. Rival Walt Disney World in Crosstown began requiring employees and guests over two years old to wear masks on Friday, but it has also gone further. The Walt Disney Company said in a statement that it will require all salaried and non-union employees in the United States who work at the site to be fully vaccinated.

Disney employees who have not already been vaccinated will have 60 days to do so and those who are still working from home will need to show proof of vaccination before returning. Disney said it is discussing vaccine requirements with the union, and added that all new employees will be required to fully vaccinate before starting work for the company.

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