--- title: "Data Suggests the Pandemic Could Be Coming Back With a Vengeance" description: "Florida has seen a record resurgence in new COVID-19 cases, with new cases exceeding 1,000 for five days straight. Yet the state is reopening this week." date: "2020-06-08" modified: "2020-06-08" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/data-pandemic-coming-back-vengeance" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "coronavirus" - "covid19" - "florida" --- # Data Suggests the Pandemic Could Be Coming Back With a Vengeance ![Florida has seen a record resurgence in new COVID-19 cases, with new cases exceeding 1,000 for five days straight. Yet the state is reopening this week.]() *\Image: NIAID\* Florida is preparing to reopen restaurants, bars, gyms, shops, amusement parks and vacation rentals. At the same time, the state has seen a [record resurgence]() in new COVID-19 cases, with new cases exceeding 1,000 for [five days straight](). "In fact, sadly and quietly, the pandemic is roaring back to life," wrote author Charles Fishman in a [series of tweets]() comparing new COVID-19 statistics from different states. While [some of this rise]() can be chalked up to an increase in testing, it's still a troubling trend, suggesting cases could soon start shooting back up again. https://twitter.com/TopherSpiro/status/1269064745577000960 According to [covid19-projections.com](), Florida has an estimated R value of 1.07, meaning each person who has the virus will end up infecting that many people on average. A value of over one means that the state is on an upward trend. Below one would mean that the virus is on a decline. The effects of reopening will likely take weeks to make themselves apparent in terms of new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. "We’re going to continue to see increases in cases as people continue to not follow the standard things that we have to follow to avoid transmitting the virus," Aileen Marty, an infectious disease specialist at Florida International University, [told local news]() on Sunday. "We’re no longer in lockdown. We’ve opened up our community. And it’s been about five days since the protests began." Florida isn't the only state seeing this trend. Other states including California and Texas are also seeing a [resurgence]() in new cases. New York City officially entered Phase 1 of its reopening today, with some "nonessential" retailers resuming work. New Yorkers will still have to wear masks if social distancing isn't possible. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()