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DeSantis says vaccine will not be required in Florida
Meanwhile, Tampa General Hospital will be among the first across Florida to store the new COVID-19 vaccine while they wait for final approval to use it.
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 9,085 Friday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 923,418.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 17,889, an increase of 79 since Thursday's update. In addition, a total of 221 non-Floridians have died in the state.
Locally, Hernando County reported 10 new deaths, Citrus County reported five, Highlands County reported four, Pasco County reported three, Hillsborough County reported two, while Sumter, Manatee and Polk Counties each reported one new death.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 54,792
Pinellas: 30,286
Sarasota: 12,121
Manatee: 15,511
Sumter: 3,248
Polk: 26,091
Citrus: 4,218
Hernando: 4,507
Pasco: 13,373
Highlands: 3,447
DeSoto: 2,163
Hardee: 1,720
SOURCE: Florida Department of Health
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Friday, 3,439 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 53,091 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 8,039,800 residents have been tested in the state as of Friday -- 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 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 7.64% on Thursday, 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
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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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Map of known COVID-19 cases:
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