Florida Coronavirus Outbreak Draws Local Mask Mandates

The Sunshine State is having a bleak summer.

Coronavirus cases are surging in Florida, with officials reporting that more cases are coming from a young demographic.

State officials report nearly 110,000 cases of the virus, with Wednesday's total of new cases marking a record 5,511 infections. Rising case numbers are likely due to a combination of increased testing and more community spread as the state reopens.

"I think part of that is just natural, you kind of go and want to be doing things, you want to be more out and about," Gov. Ron DeSantis said this week at a press conference. "I think the folks who are a little older and would be more vulnerable have been a little bit more careful."

DeSantis has repeatedly said he will not issue a statewide mandate ordering residents to wear masks. He has also said he does not plan to reverse the state's reopening.

Researchers behind a coronavirus model put out by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania recently said that the state has "all the makings of the next large epicenter" and pointed to social distancing, hand washing and mask wearing as ways to reduce the spread of the virus.

They specifically said that community transmission is "fairly widespread" in Miami, Tampa, Fort Myers, Orlando and several southeastern counties. Many were concerned that the reopening of the states' beaches would play a larger role in transmission, but warnings have mostly been directed at groups gathering at bars and restaurants without proper physical distancing.

Without a statewide mandate on wearing masks, several areas have issued their own, particularly in South Florida, in order to slow the spread of the virus. Some have been met with legal challenges.

[ MAP: The Spread of Coronavirus ]

Mayors from nearly a dozen cities in Miami-Dade County announced this week that masks will be mandatory in all public spaces, including outdoors when social distancing isn't possible.

Hospitalizations, intensive care unit visits and ventilator use in the county are on the rise, according to researchers.

A conservative state lawmaker this week sued Orange County over its mask mandate, alleging the order is unconstitutional and infringes on residents' rights.

The developments in Florida surrounding the mask debate mirror a nationwide trend in which some people see the donning of masks as a political move. President Donald Trump has not quelled this viewpoint, and on Tuesday evening he did not wear a mask during his rally in Phoenix, despite a request from the city's mayor to do so.

Florida's outbreak surge comes as Jacksonville prepares to host a significant portion of the Republican National Committee's convention in late August.

A poll published on Wednesday from the University of North Florida found that 58% of voters surveyed in Jacksonville do not support holding the convention in the city. When broken down by party lines, 90% of Democrats and 19% of Republicans opposed having the event in Jacksonville.

"National nominating conventions are polarizing events, and unsurprisingly the levels of support for Jacksonville hosting the RNC varies dramatically by partisanship," Michael Binder, director of the university's Public Opinion Research Lab, said in a statement. "Under the backdrop of a global pandemic that appears to have come more fervently to Florida, the opposition to this event being hosted locally seems much more concerning."

DeSantis, who is a Trump supporter, has welcomed the opportunity for his state, despite concerns from health experts.