Florida adds nearly 24,000 COVID-19 cases, reports 15,840 hospitalizations

Judge to rule next week on mask mandate challenge

The mask showdown continues Friday inside of a Florida court room as parents face off against Governor Ron DeSantis, challenging his executive order against mandating masks inside of schools.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida reported 23,933 new COVID-19 cases and 29 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, according to data posted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The data, posted Friday, showed that Florida was responsible for nearly 17% of the newly reported cases nationwide and about 4% of deaths reported for the day.

A seven-day "moving" average showed Florida averaging 21,375 COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths.

The total reported on Thursday came after Florida reported 24,869 cases on Wednesday, the highest number since the start of the pandemic.

Graph of daily COVID-19 cases in Florida from the CDC's website Friday, August 13

Florida has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks because of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus.

The surge also has led to a major increase in hospitalizations. Florida hospitals reported on Friday that 15,840 patients with COVID-19 were filling inpatient hospital beds, about 27% of the inpatient beds being utilized, according to a website maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In all, about 85.5% of the inpatient hospital beds in the state were in use, according to the data, which hospitals report to the government daily.

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