Florida now accounts for nearly a quarter of all new COVID-19 cases in the United States

New cases of COVID-19 in Florida have grown by more than 400% since the start of July 2021.

CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images

• 12,647 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida on Wednesday.
• The 7-day average of new daily cases is 8,911.
• Across the US, more than 55,000 people tested positive on July 21.
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Florida is experiencing its largest number of new coronavirus cases since January, with the state accounting for nearly a quarter of all positive tests in the United States on Wednesday.

Nationally, more than 55,000 people were confirmed to have COVID-19 on July 21. Over 12,600 of those cases were in Florida, or 22.9% of the national tally, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the past seven days, an average of 8,911 have tested positive in the state, or just over 22% of all cases in the US.

At the end of June, by comparison, the state's seven-day average of new cases was less than 1,700.

The numbers are the worst Florida has seen in months, coinciding with the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, prompting Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis to make a new push to get residents vaccinated.

On July 21, just under 23% of all new coronavirus cases were reported in Florida

CDC

"Here's, I think, the most important thing with the data: if you are vaccinated, fully vaccinated, the chance of you getting seriously ill or dying from COVID is effectively zero," DeSantis said Wednesday.

In May, DeSantis signed legislation that prohibits businesses from requiring proof of a COVID-19 vaccine before providing service, describing vaccination as "your personal choice."

Just under 57% of adults in Florida are fully vaccinated, per the CDC.

The rise in cases has been accompanied by a surge in hospitalizations. The vast majority of patients are unvaccinated.

"When they come into the system, they say, 'Can I get vaccinated?' And at that point, you can't," Alix Zacharski, an intensive care clinical nurse manager at Jackson Health System in Miami, told CNN.

Tania Leets-Santana, a spokesperson for Jackson Health System, told Insider that of the 146 patients at the hospital with COVID-19 on Wednesday, "91% are unvaccinated."

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