5,838 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Wednesday; 52 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 5,838 Wednesday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 858,012.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 17,300, an increase of 52 since Tuesday's update. In addition, a total of 212 non-Floridians have died in the state.

Locally, Pinellas County reported five new deaths, Hillsborough and Sarasota each reported four, while Hernando, Highlands, Polk, and Sumter each reported one.

Of the 858,012 cases, 846,321 are Florida residents while 11,691 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 51,635
Pinellas: 28,242
Sarasota: 10,812
Manatee: 14,400
Sumter: 3,108
Polk: 24,661
Citrus: 3,696
Hernando: 4,127
Pasco: 12,088
Highlands: 3,037
DeSoto: 1,741
Hardee: 1,669

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 Wednesday, 3,056 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 51,115 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 7,122,804 residents have been tested in the state as of Wednesday -- about a third of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.

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 September, mirroring the number of tests being given. But it has begun to increase again. The 6,820 new cases reported Sunday was the highest since August 12.

The rate of positive new tests has declined from its summertime peak, remaining below 10% for two months, but it has begun to increase again. It was at 7.82% on Tuesday, the most recent date available.

After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August that continued through September -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.

The state announced last month that it was taking a closer look at those delays and how deaths are tallied, even as Florida moved past New Jersey with the fourth-highest number of deaths in the country.

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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. 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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Map of known COVID-19 cases:

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