In just a few weeks, the NBA will head to Orlando, Florida to resume the 2019-20 regular season, on hiatus since March because of COVID-19. Florida was one of the states that opened up earliest as shelter-in-place orders abated across the United States. Unfortunately it appears that the threat of COVID-19 remains as strong as ever, especially in the Sunshine State.
Tim Reynolds of the AP tweeted a startling statistic today, relaying that on June 18th, the Orlando area reported a 15.1% rate of positive tests for Coronavirus.
Orange County, Florida - the Orlando area - reported a staggering 15.1% rate of positive coronavirus tests yesterday, as numbers in that area continue exploding, less than three weeks before the NBA and MLS head to Disney to resume their seasons.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 19, 2020
That number represents a significant increase from earlier in the month:
On June 6 in Orange County, it was 2.0%. One of out every 50 tests was positive.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 19, 2020
Not even two weeks later, it's basically one out of every six or seven tests is positive.
Thought the overall percentage of positive tests is rising in the area, the rate of hospitalization among people who test positive has lowered.
State officials also say that on June 1, roughly 17% of all positive cases in Orange County resulted in hospitalization.
— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) June 19, 2020
They say now that number is at 9%.
Out of the first 2,000 or so cases in Orange, about 320 led to hospital stays. Of the 2,000 or so since, about 65 did.
The NBA season is scheduled to resume officially July 30th, with players from 22 teams reporting to Orlando for pre-restart workouts no later than July 9th.