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Protection of most vulnerable state’s top priority
Governor Ron DeSantis visited Tampa Monday and said the state's priority is protecting the most vulnerable populations from COVID-19.
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 7,569 Tuesday, partially the result of a large data dump. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 631,040.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 11,374, an increase of 187 since Monday's update. In addition, a total of 147 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Pinellas Couty reported five new deaths, Polk reported four, Sumter reported three, while Citrus, Hernando, Manatee, and Sarasota each reported two.
Of the 631,040 cases, 624,116 are Florida residents while 6,924 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
- Hillsborough: 37,458
- Pinellas: 20,026
- Sarasota: 7,239
- Manatee: 10,490
- Sumter: 1,881
- Polk: 17,159
- Citrus: 2,124
- Hernando: 2,685
- Pasco: 8,135
- Highlands: 1,838
- DeSoto: 1,493
- Hardee: 2,004
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 Tuesday, 3,621 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 38,859 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 4,682,883 residents have been tested in the state as of Tuesday -- about 21.8% 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. Dept. of Health.
Today's new case number represents the 91st straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. The rate of positive new tests increased during that time period, but has begun to trend down, remaining below 10% for over two weeks. It was at 6.81% on Monday, the most recent date available, but would be 5.89% without the data dump.
The number of new cases has generally trended down over the last few weeks, mirroring the number of tests being given. The 1,885 new cases reported Monday represented the lowest single-day increase since June 15. Today's spike was blamed on a 75,000-test dump of "stale" data from the state's largest lab partner, Quest Diagnostics, according to the state.
After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
Source: Fla. Dept. 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
CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: What you need to know
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