Escambia County Commissioner Doug Underhill sent out a mass email to county voters from his voteunderhill@gmail.com account that states: “Our environment is not as conducive to COVID-19 as the northern tier states like NY and WA.”
That statement has been refuted by the World Health Organization: “From the evidence so far, the COVID-19 virus can be transmitted in ALL AREAS, including areas with hot and humid weather.”
The Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention (CDC) says too much is unknown about the virus to determine if its spread will decrease in warmer weather:
“It is not yet known whether weather and temperature impact the spread of COVID-19. Some other viruses, like the common cold and flu, spread more during cold weather months but that does not mean it is impossible to become sick with these viruses during other months. At this time, it is not known whether the spread of COVID-19 will decrease when weather becomes warmer. There is much more to learn about the transmissibility, severity, and other features associated with COVID-19 and investigations are ongoing.”
Both WHO and CDC are considered reputable authorities, and neither support Underhill’s statement.
The Florida counties with the highest number of cases are in the warmest parts of the state – Miami-Dade: 1,608 and Broward: 1,152.