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DeSantis issues order for senior vaccinations
The first wave of COVID-19 vaccinations in Florida went primarily to people under age 65, as Gov. Ron DeSantis says the state is pivoting to give the vast majority of shots to seniors due to their increased risk of illness and death from the coronavirus.
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 13,147 Thursday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 1,247,546.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 20,995, an increase of 121 since Wednesday's update. In addition, a total of 300 non-Floridians have died in the state.
Locally, Citrus County reported 10 new deaths, Hillsborough reported 10, Pinellas reported six, Polk reported 4, Sarasota reported 22 and DeSoto reported 1.
Of the 1,247,546 cases, 1,226,530 are Florida residents while 21,016 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 72,860
Pinellas: 42,176
Sarasota: 17,475
Manatee: 21,031
Sumter: 4,657
Polk: 34,845
Citrus: 6,239
Hernando: 6,864
Pasco: 20,474
Highlands: 4,726
DeSoto: 2,816
Hardee: 2,024
Florida new resident cases in orange; new resident deaths in gray. Note: Deaths usually appear to be trending down because of the delay in confirming the last few days of data. Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Thursday, 5,619 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 61,100 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
Vaccination efforts are ramping up across the state. Wednesday, 24,944 more residents received their initial vaccine dose, bringing the total to 93,077. No one has yet received their second and final dose.
LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map
Source: Fla. Department of Health
The number of new cases had generally been trending down in the fall, mirroring the number of tests being given. But it has begun to increase again. The 13,148 new cases reported last Thursday was the highest single-day increase since July -- just one more positive case than today's number.
The rate of positive new tests has declined from its summertime peak, remaining below 10% for several months, but it has also begun to increase again. It was at 7.82% on Wednesday, the most recent date available.
After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August that continued until November -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
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Source: Fla. Department of Health
PDF: DOH's full county-by-county COVID-19 case report
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, and data can take days or weeks to validate. 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.
MAP: Florida coronavirus cases by county
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If you feel sick:
The Florida Department of Health has opened 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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