A construction worker rides a scooter past a mural by Hiero Veiga of billionaire businessman Moishe Mana, left, and City of Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez wearing masks on Monday in Miami.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

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Wilfredo Lee/AP

A construction worker rides a scooter past a mural by Hiero Veiga of billionaire businessman Moishe Mana, left, and City of Miami Mayor Francis X. Suarez wearing masks on Monday in Miami.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

Florida posted its highest number of deaths yet from the coronavirus Tuesday. The state’s Department of Health reported 132 deaths and 9,194 new positive cases. It followed two days when Florida registered its highest number of new COVID-19 cases. On Sunday, Florida saw 15,300 cases, the most so far by any state. Dr. Lilian Abbo, an infectious disease expert at the University of Miami says, “Miami is now the epicenter of the pandemic. What we were seeing in Wuhan..five months ago, now we are there.” Addressing the public this week, she said, “We really need your help.”

Elected officials and public health experts say the surge in cases in Florida began in mid-June and was caused by young people gathering at house parties and other locations. In recent days, doctors say the median age of people testing positive for the virus has been going up, a sign they say that young people have now spread the virus to older friends and family members.

Abbo joined several other doctors in Miami at a news conference Monday where they appealed to the public to socially distance, wear face coverings, and follow local rules aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus. Miami-Dade County recently imposed a curfew and ordered all restaurants closed for indoor dining. County Mayor Carlos Gimenez says he wants to see if those steps are effective before deciding whether to take tougher measures, such as re-imposing a county-wide stay at home order. In the meantime, he says the county is stepping up enforcement. “We close down five or six businesses on a daily basis,” he said after inspectors found they were violating coronavirus regulations.

A factor in the surge of positive coronavirus testing is that Florida has greatly increased its testing. On Sunday, Florida’s record-setting day, the state recorded nearly 143,000 tests, triple the number conducted a week earlier. On Tuesday, Florida got the results of 67,160 tests with a positivity rate over 18 percent.

As cases have spiked in Florida, hospitals are seeing more patients with COVID-19. Carlos Migoya, the CEO of Jackson Health says his hospital has cut back on patients admitted for elective procedures as the number of COVID-19 cases has increased. He says his hospital, Miami’s largest, still has extra capacity and the ability to add more intensive care beds if needed. “We have the beds,” Migoya says. “We need the staff.” Florida has sent 100 medical personnel to help at Jackson Memorial. DeSantis says the state is also sending nurses and other personnel to hospitals in the Tampa area and has plans to bring in an additional 2000 nurses from out of state. On MSNBC Tuesday, Migoya said it might be three weeks until cases peak in Miami-Dade County. “And that is a very tough three weeks,” he said. Asked about the prospect of schools reopening next month he said Miami’s high infection rate made that unlikely. He said, “Positivity rates of 25 to 28% percent are not indicative of us being able to open the schools here in Miami-Dade County.”