Florida reports over 10,000 new coronavirus cases Thursday in latest record; 67 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 10,109 since yesterday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 169,106.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 3,617, an increase of 67 since Wednesday's update. Another 101 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Pinellas County reported eight new deaths, Hillsborough reported five, and Manatee and Sarasota each reported one.
Of the 169,106 cases,166,303 are Florida residents while 2,803 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 12,376
Pinellas: 7,249
Sarasota: 1,707
Manatee: 3,175
Sumter: 387
Polk: 4,327
Citrus: 345
Hernando: 451
Pasco: 2,274
Highlands: 372
DeSoto: 661
Hardee: 468
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Thursday, 15,150 Floridians had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 2,033,794 people have been tested in the state as of Thursday -- about 9.5% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.
LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map
Florida resident cases. Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.
Thursday's total new cases represented the states largest single-day increase since the pandemic began, and the 30th straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day.
The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period. It was at 14.59% on Wednesday, the most recent date available.
Source: Fla. Dept. of Health
Experts say the current spike is partly due to more tests being given, but also a result of reopening the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the recent case increases are largely due to testing of "high-risk" individuals like farmworkers in the state's rural counties, prisoners, and residents of long-term care facilities, though he has also noted the "erosion" in social distancing, especially among the younger demographics in social setting. That prompted him to order all bars to cease serving alcohol Friday.
While the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has appeared to remain flat or even trend down, though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
Source: Fla. Dept. of Health
Editor's note: The number of new cases and deaths reported each day does not necessarily reflect the day that the case was confirmed. The state says some private testing labs dump large batches of test results which include cases from previous days. Stats for today and previous days will likely change in the future as the state reviews more cases and updates retroactive data.
The state's number of deaths represents permanent Florida residents who have died from COVID-19.
If you feel sick:
The Florida Department of Health has a COVID-19 Call Center at 1-866-779-6121. Agents will answer questions around the clock. Questions may also be emailed to covid-19@flhealth.gov. Email responses will be sent during call center hours.
LINK: Florida's COVID-19 website
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