8,109 new Florida coronavirus cases Wednesday; 212 new deaths reported

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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 8,109 Wednesday as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 550,901.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 8,765, an increase of 212 since Tuesday's update. In addition, a total of 133 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Hillsborough County reported 31 new deaths, Pinellas reported nine, Polk and Manatee each reported eight, Pasco reported five, Sarasota reported four, Hernando reported three, Sumter noted two, while Citrus and Hardee each reported one.

Of the 550,901 cases, 545,040 are Florida residents while 5,861 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

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.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 33,198
Pinellas: 18,217
Sarasota: 6,394
Manatee: 9,468
Sumter: 1,383
Polk: 14,812
Citrus: 1,614
Hernando: 2,106
Pasco: 7,213
Highlands: 1,501
DeSoto: 1,382
Hardee: 992

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Wednesday, 6,557 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 31,947 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 4,093,972 people have been tested in the state as of Wednesday -- about 19.1% 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 71st straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period, but has begun to trend down slightly. It was at 11.89% on Tuesday, 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 276 new deaths reported yesterday was the largest single daily increase so far during the pandemic.

Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.

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

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.

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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