FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Coronavirus cases are multiplying in Florida counties that are being allowed to reopen sooner than South Florida.
Martin County experienced a 234% increase in the past month, yet it's being allowed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to move on to the next phase of reopening. The same with Collier County, which saw a 156% increase.
Although South Florida still accounts for more than half of the state's cases, rates of increase are far lower. New cases have grown in Broward County by 34%, in Miami-Dade by 40% and in Palm Beach by 91%.
Officials in Palm Beach County, which reopened sooner than Broward or Miami-Dade, were discussing Thursday whether to hold a special County Commission meeting to ask the governor to let the county reopen at the level of the rest of the state.
At a news conference Wednesday, the governor announced that the 64 counties outside South Florida could move on to Phase 2 reopening. The loosened restrictions will allow the limited reopening of bars, movie theaters, bowling alleys, concert halls and other places where people congregate.
South Florida accounts for about 55% of the state's 60,183 cases, and its continued dominance in total numbers has been invoked by the governor when treating the counties differently.
"They still represent the bulk of those," the governor said Wednesday at the news conference to announced the reopening of the rest of Florida. "They have about 29% of the state's population in those counties but have had an inordinate amount of cases, hospitalizations and fatalities."
The region's share of cases has been shrinking. Although the state posted 1,419 new cases Thursday, South Florida's share of the increase has declined to 38%.
The three South Florida counties may seek approval by written request to the governor to enter Phase 2, and Palm Beach County is considering doing so.
Palm Beach County Commissioner Hal Veleche, who supports reopening, said county administrator Verdenia Baker is contacting commissioners to see if there's enough support to schedule a meeting.
Veleche said the health situation appears at least stable and that the economy has been suffering severely.
"The metrics that I've looked at for hospital occupancy rates and ICU rates are pretty consistently around 70%, and that indicates that we're in good shape going forward," he said. "This is a miserable situation for retail, restaurants and hotels."
