Starting in March, when Florida had its first case of the virus in Tampa, families lost loved ones, people lost jobs, students transitioned to online learning and then back to the classroom, and long-term care facilities went into lockdown.
For weeks, finding toilet paper at the local grocery store was nearly impossible. Cleaning supplies were wiped out. In Florida, the lack of supplies made it seem like a Category 5 hurricane was about to sweep across the state.
Wearing face masks while around other people is now the norm, social distancing has become a mostly accepted practice, and so is frequent hand-washing.
The Florida Department of Health announced 7,391 new coronavirus cases and 77 new deaths statewide on Sunday.
The state did not release an update on Christmas, so Saturday s update, which included two days worth of data, from Dec. 24 and Dec. 25, totaled 17,042 COVID-19 infections reported and 140 deaths.
As of Sunday, Florida now has a total of 1,271,979 coronavirus cases, according to the Florida Department of Health.
On Sunday, the Florida Department of Health said there were four new deaths in Volusia County with 66 new cases reported.
No new coronavirus deaths were recorded in Flagler County and cases were up 14 on Sunday.
With Sunday s reported 77 new deaths statewide, Florida now logs a total of 21,212 coronavirus fatalities, out of which 302 are non-Florida residents, health officials said.
Florida reports 10,434 new coronavirus cases and 74 new deaths
The Florida Department of Health announced 10,434 new coronavirus cases and 74 new deaths statewide on Tuesday.
The total cases in Florida ae now at 1,223,015 and deaths have reached 20,754 statewide. The state reported 235 new cases in Volusia County and two more deaths and 32 new cases and one more death in Flagler.
It was another day of cases topping 10,000. On Friday, the state announced 13,000 new coronavirus cases, the fourth-highest increase since the pandemic began. On Thursday, the state announced the third-highest daily increase with 13,148.
Thursday s total was eclipsed only by July 12 and July 16, with 15,300 and 13,965 cases, respectively, during what was considered the peak of the pandemic in the state.
For the past 40 years, Ormond Beach resident Doug Pettit would travel to Maryland to spend Christmas with his family. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, his family has decided to skip the decades-long tradition in 2020.
“We re all sad that it s gone in this direction. Except for the Christmas I was in Saudi Arabia for Desert Shield, it will be the first in 40 years that we haven t been together,” Pettit said. “We usually have a big Christmas Eve dinner with 30 or more extended family members and close friends at the house with lots of good food. I’m going to miss that.”