- Florida remains one of the few states to not release data on its daily COVID-19 hospitalization rate.
- At a press conference on Tuesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis ignored questions about when he would release the data, the Miami Herald reported.
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The Florida Department of Health reported 7,361 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the rate of positive tests spiking to over 19%.
- The surge has been linked to DeSantis' early decision to reopen bars, restaurants, and other indoor facilities.
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"When everything started to open up and ease up, then our volume picked up," Dr. Mark Supino, a physician at Jackson Health System in Miami, told Business Insider last week.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is refusing to say why his state has not begun reporting the daily COVID-19 hospitalization rate, despite earlier promising to do so, the Miami Herald reported Tuesday.
At a press conference on Tuesday, DeSantis, a Republican, ignored two direct questions about the data: one from the Herald and another from CNN.
His office also did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Earlier in the week, the governor's office promised to release the data on daily hospitalizations, according to the Herald, which is believed to be in the possession of the state's Agency for Health Care Administration. The agency does publicly report the number of hospital beds currently in use and the total number of COVID-19 patients the pandemic began.
"They won't release it unless there's public pressure or a lawsuit filed," state Sen. José Javier Rodríguez, a Democrat, told the paper. "It's infuriating."
In total, over 16,400 Floridians have been hospitalized due to COVID-19, as of July 7, and over 3,800 have died.
The pandemic is also growing worse in a state that once served as a poster child for reopening, early — a decision that appears linked to the most recent surge.
The Florida Department of Health reported 7,361 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the rate of positive tests spiking to over 19%. The department's stated "target range" is below 10%. That was last achieved on June 20.
"When everything started to open up and ease up, then our volume picked up," Dr. Mark Supino, a physician at Jackson Health System in Miami, told Business Insider last week.
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