COVID19 Update - Day 174

US Tests: 77,748,898*

US Cases: 5,999,459*

US Deaths: 175,602*

Worldwide Cases: 25,398,619*

Worldwide Deaths: 849,031*

* - Numbers are a lower bound.  True numbers are being suppressed by the Trump administration

Where does Florida Governor Ron DeSantis go to get his apology?  This is the question a well-known Trump sycophant asked back in May, and since then it has become a sick joke among those of us with even a tenuous grasp on reality.

And the reality is: DeSantis may have overseen the most disastrous response to the coronavirus in the entire U.S., and possibly the world:

In the roughly three months since Gov. Ron DeSantis greenlighted Phase Two of his plan to reopen Florida, the Sunshine State has seen a whopping 947.9 percent increase in the number of COVID-19 cases.

As of Friday morning, 615,806 cases had been identified across the state. On June 3 when the governor made the announcement that bars and pubs could reopen at 50 percent capacity inside and full capacity outside, the state was reporting 58,764 COVID-19 cases – a difference of 557,042.

Under Phase Two, bowling alleys, movie theaters, arcades and auditoriums also were allowed to reopen at 50 percent capacity. But a portion of that plan was short-lived, as DeSantis reversed his decision on bars and ordered them closed again on June 26 when the state was reporting 122,960 cases.

The number of deaths and people hospitalized also are quite different today than when DeSantis decided to reopen the state. On June 3, the state was reporting 2,566 deaths and 10,525 people hospitalized. On Friday, those numbers had jumped to 11,099 deaths and 38,029 people being treated in area hospitals.

According to Johns Hopkins, there are currently only 14 COUNTRIES on the planet with more coronavirus deaths than Florida.

This is just one example (among thousands) of Republicans spouting nonsense, either because they don't know the truth, or don't care about it.