216 new coronavirus deaths reported Wednesday is Florida's largest daily increase

20,000 vials of remdesivir headed to Florida

Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that tens of thousands of doses of the COVID-19 drug remdesivir are on their way to Florida hospitals.

TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 9,446 since Tuesday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 451,423.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 6,333, an increase of 216 since Tuesday's update, which is a new single-day record. In addition, a total of 124 non-Floridians have died in the state.

Locally, Polk and Manatee counties are reporter 15 new deaths each; Hillsborough County is reporting 13 new deaths; Pinellas Count is reporting five new deaths; Citrus and Hernando counties are each reporting three new deaths; and Hardee and Highlands counties are each reporting one death.

Of the 451,423 cases, 446,251 are Florida residents while 5,172 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 28,268

Pinellas: 15,800

Sarasota: 5,349

Manatee: 8,187

Sumter: 1,045

Polk: 12,059

Citrus: 1,160

Hernando: 1,579

Pasco: 6,101

Highlands: 1,115

DeSoto: 1,240

Hardee: 812

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Tuesday, 8,786 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 25,499 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 3,531,721 people have been tested in the state as of Monday -- about 16.4% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.

LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map

Today's new case number represents the 57th 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 12.26% on Monday, the most recent date available.

As the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has also reflected the same upward trend -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.

The 216 new deaths reported Wednesday was the largest number of daily new deaths since the pandemic began. The previous high was 186 deaths added Tuesday

PDF: DOH's full county-by-county COVID-19 case report

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.

Experts explain how Florida counts COVID-19 deaths

Health experts say the daily number of deaths reported by the state does not reflect the actual amount of deaths on Thursday. Instead, it's a representation of the number of deaths over about a one-week time span.

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.