The standard line from the White House, Â Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Escambia DOH is the rise in positives cases of COVID-19 are due to increased testing. Yesterday, when we compared the days with the highest case increase with the previous week, we sat that testing had increased slightly, but last night we took a more macro view.
Using the state’s daily county reports, Inweekly found that 2,428 fewer test results were entered in the system over the first 14 days of June versus the last 14 days of May, but Escambia County had 38 more positive cases.
More testing isn’t factor in the most recent uptick in cases.
| Tests | Positives | |
| 5/18-5/31 | 8681 | 80 |
| 6/1-6/14 | 6253 | 118 |
Restaurant Iron announced on Facebook that one of its  employees has tested positive for COVID-19 but is asymptomatic. The restaurant has asked all of its staff to get tested and will close for two weeks to “to sanitize the restaurant and give our employees the time to self isolate.”
The management wrote, “We want to thank you all for your tremendous support since we’ve reopened the restaurant. It has meant so much to us to see you and hear your positive feedback. We ask for your continued patience and support as we work to ensure the safety of our staff and guests.”
Restaurant Iron had followed CDC guidelines – strict sanitation procedures and requiring our employees to wear a provided mask at all times in the restaurant.
The Escambia Board of County Commissioners meets this morning at 9 a.m. and will hear about how COVID-19 has impacted its budget. No word is DOH Escambia will give a health update.
Increased testing has always seemed to me a very lame reply. People either are infected or not, and more tests just means perhaps we will slow the spread…but it didn’t cause the spread. Just looking for a rationale to open more things.