13,719 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Friday; 272 new deaths

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TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 13,719 Friday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 1,627,603.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 25,011, an increase of 272 since Thursday's update. In addition, a total of 394 non-Floridians have died in the state.

Locally, Sarasota County reported 39 new deaths, Manatee reported 20, Pasco reported 11, Polk reported six, Highlands and Hillsborough each reported five, while Hernando and Pinellas each reported one.

Of the 1,627,603 cases, 1,597,849 are Florida residents while 29,442 are non-Florida residents in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 95,477
Pinellas: 56,247
Sarasota: 23,603
Manatee: 26,990
Sumter: 6,646
Polk: 47,254
Citrus: 8,192
Hernando: 9,353
Pasco: 27,865
Highlands: 6,086
DeSoto: 3,273
Hardee: 2,472

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 Friday, 6,898 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, with a state total of 69,735 having been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

Vaccination efforts continue across the state. Thursday, 37,840 more patients received their first vaccine dose in Florida, for a total of 1,110,459. Meanwhile, 5,606 more people received their second and final dose, meaning 139,345 have completed both rounds.

Source: Florida 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 rate of positive new tests has declined from its summertime peak, remaining below 10% for several months, but it reached that point again during the holiday season and into 2021. It was at 12.37% on Thursday, 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. The 272 new deaths reported Friday is the largest single-day increase of the pandemic.

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Source: Florida 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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