Over 8,900 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Thursday; 120 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 8,935 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 232,718.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 4,009, an increase of 120 since Wednesday's update. Another 102 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Hillsborough reported 19 new deaths, Pinellas reported 12, Polk reported five, Manatee noted three, Sarasota reported two, while Pasco and DeSoto each reported one.
Of the 232,718 cases, 229,367 are Florida residents while 3,351 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 16,666
Pinellas: 9,826
Sarasota: 2,431
Manatee: 4,266
Sumter: 549
Polk: 6,206
Citrus: 469
Hernando: 708
Pasco: 3,330
Highlands: 473
DeSoto: 799
Hardee: 548
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Thursday, 17,167 Floridians had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 2,359,636 people have been tested in the state as of Thursday -- about 10.8% 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 in orange; Florida resident deaths in gray. Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.
Thursday's total new case number represents the 37th straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. It also marked the largest number of new deaths reported in a single day.
The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period. It was at 18.39% 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 more recently 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.
While the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has begun to reflect the same upward trend 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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