8,555 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Tuesday; 72 new deaths

The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 8,555 Tuesday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 953,300.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 18,157, an increase of 72 since Monday's update. In addition, a total of 226 non-Floridians have died in the state. 

Locally, Sarasota County had 11 new deaths, Pinellas County had nine, Hernando County had 3, and Pasco and Manatee both had two.

Of the 953,300 cases, 938,830 are Florida residents while 14,470 are non-Florida residents currently in the state. 

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Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 56,166

Pinellas: 31,464

Sarasota: 12,757

Manatee: 16,065

Sumter: 3,341

Polk: 26,691

Citrus: 4,408

Hernando: 4,697

Pasco: 13,982

Highlands: 3,598

DeSoto: 2,280

Hardee: 1,738

(Source: Florida Department of Health)

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Tuesday, 3,780 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 53,827 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 8,454,706 residents have been tested in the state as of Monday -- 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

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 Sunday, Nov. 15 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 7.47% on Monday, 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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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

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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

AROUND THE WORLD: CoronavirusNOW.com

Map of known COVID-19 cases:

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