A report from the White House sent to Gov. Ron DeSantis' office on Oct. 11 shows coronavirus testing must increase in Florida.
More than 5.8 million COVID-19 tests have been administered in Florida. More than 520,000 coronavirus tests have been administered in the state this month as of Thursday.
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The White House report notes they want to see the Abbot BinaxNOW or other antigen tests as weekly repeat surveillance in critical populations to monitor asymptomatic community spread.
This includes:
- Teachers
- Staff at nursing homes
- Staff at assisted living homes
- Prison staff
- First responders
According to the White House report, officials continue to see community spread initiated by gatherings with friends and family.
White House officials want to remind everyone to participate in outdoor activities and to wear a mask while practicing social distancing since someone at a gathering could be asymptomatic.
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The Oct. 11 report shows an increase in cases in The Villages and Brevard County. White House officials want state officials to monitor positive test rates, hospitalizations and week-to-week numbers in these areas.
More than 10,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Brevard County, according to the daily data on Oct. 22 from the Department of Health.
The week of Sept. 6, the positive rate for coronavirus tests was at 4.52%in Brevard County.
For the week of Sept. 27, the positive rate for COVID-19 tests was at 7.7% in Brevard County. For the week of Oct. 11, the positive rate for the COVID-19 test was at 5.87%.
The week of Sept 27, Sumter County was at a 12.67% positive test rate for COVID-19. As of Oct. 11, the positive rate for COVID-19 tests dropped to 5.46%.
The White House report shows they want each state to be below 5% for positive cases, Florida as of Thursday is at 4.46%.
The report also wants college students to know the possibility of spreading COVID-19 from campus to local communities and hometowns.