The numbers are staggering: More than 1 million cases of coronavirus in Florida. Just last month, the daily additions to the state’s database of cases were averaging around 6,300.

Those same figures showed an average of 60 deaths reported each day — and if that pace continues, we will have lost more than 20,000 Floridians by the end of the year to COVID-19.

Could the state have mitigated those numbers at all? Or was it inevitable? Democratic state Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith has some choice words for state leadership in the latest Beyond the Soundbite.

Plus, in our Positive Story of the Week, we revisit a Florida man's bold rescue of a little puppy from the jaws of an alligator.

IN THIS EPISODE

Florida State Rep. Carlos Guillermo Smith's Twitter: @CarlosGSmith

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don’t capture the context of the whole story. “Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite” expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.