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Images Credit: Disney (left) / Map: David Schutz, Sun Sentinel (right)If there is one thing Disney Park Guests are ready to stop thinking about… it’s COVID. Of course, outside of Park-goers, it’s safe to say we would ALL prefer to put COVID behind us. Well, Floridians were thrilled with a recent map released showing Florida is currently the safest place in the country when it comes to lack of COVID transmission. Before you throw out the mask and pack your bags for your Sunshine State getaway to Walt Disney World Resort, you’ll want to note that reports are showing that Florida’s COVID transmission may not be as low as it seems.
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A recent COVID-19 map showing “COVID community transmission levels” from November 25 is hitting social media. According to the map that pulls from CDC data, Florida’s transmission levels are extremely low in comparison to the rest of the United States. It seems however that the reason Florida looks extra blue on the map is due to the lack of Florida COVID data being updated. Here’s a screenshot of the map in question:
Without the new case numbers being updated with CDC, the Florida COVID transmission rates look to be way down which would be great news, if the data is in fact correct. The reports believe Florida’s transmission would be in line with the rest of the nation if data was corrected.
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According to a report from Orlando Sentinel,
Data that shows community transmission levels by county have not been updated for the state of Florida on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention portal since Thanksgiving. The resulting map shows a sunny picture of COVID in Florida, the only state with a low transmission rate.
A review by the South Florida Sun Sentinel of the data behind the CDC’s map shows zero cases reported per capita in every county in Florida since Nov. 25, a consistent gap not seen in any other state in the U.S.
As of Nov. 30, just 193 counties throughout the country have “low” community transmission levels, with 64 of them — more than a third — in Florida because they are missing cases-per-capita data for five days.
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The map has gone viral on social media. @DrEliDavid tweets, “See that blue-colored state with lowest Covid rate? Wonder why CNN isn’t running any headlines on @GovRonDeSantis anymore…”
@VigilantFox tweets, “Why does Florida have the lowest COVID case rate in the country when they aren’t enforcing social distancing, mask mandates, or vaccine mandates?”
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@ChristnaPushaw posted, “As Winter Approaches, COVID Cases Bottom Out In Florida, Surge To Peak Levels In The North”. Pushaw, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press secretary, goes on to report, “the CDC map that I Tweeted is accurate, and Florida is the only state with mostly “blue” (low community transmission) counties. Florida has been reporting COVID data to the CDC as usual…Currently, if you look at the CDC dataset, you will see Florida counties reported data to the CDC on November 29, as well as November 28. This is standard.” “Florida still has the lowest case rate per 100,000 in the entire country and this continues to decrease.”
The debate on if Florida actually does have the lowest transmission level in the country right now is unclear. We will have to wait for the next CDC update.
Most recently, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has officially confirmed that the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has been detected in the United States. The case comes out of California, but wherein the state has not been released. We do know California and San Francisco Departments of Public Health were the ones to detect the case.
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Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts have yet to release any information on possible new COVID-19 guidelines if the Omicron variant were to ramp up in the United States. Currently, at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts, the policy remains that all Guests are required to wear a face-covering at indoor locations throughout the Disney property, and remain optional while outdoors.
Does the COVID transmission map help in your decision to visit Florida’s Theme Parks? And does the new Omicron variant change your Disney Parks plans? Let us know in the comments!