6,276 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Saturday; 79 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 6,276 Saturday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 985,297.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 18,442, an increase of 79 since Friday's update. In addition, a total of 235 non-Floridians have died in the state.
Locally, Pinellas County is reporting 10 new deaths, Hillsborough and Manatee Counties are each reporting three new deaths and Polk County is reporting two new deaths.
Of the 985,297 cases, 969,813 are Florida residents while 15,484 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 57,728
Pinellas: 32,630
Sarasota: 13,453
Manatee: 16,570
Sumter: 3,428
Polk: 27,300
Citrus: 4,700
Hernando: 4,929
Pasco: 14,619
Highlands: 3,713
DeSoto: 2,359
Hardee: 1,760
SOURCE: Florida Department of Health
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Saturday, 3,908 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 54,591 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 8,764,457 residents have been tested in the state as of Saturday -- just over 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: Florida 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 10,105 new cases reported last Sunday was the highest since July 25.
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 7.14% on Friday, the most recent date available.
After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August that continued through October -- 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: 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
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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