Florida reports 28,317 new COVID-19 cases, 120 deaths, 13,614 hospitalizations Monday
TAMPA, Fla. - As cases of the novel coronavirus increase daily in Florida, state agencies and independent organizations have again started reporting daily case counts, hospitalizations, and deaths in an effort to inform the public on the risk of catching the disease and becoming seriously ill.
On Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control, 28,317 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Florida Sunday and another 28,316 cases were detected Saturday.
On Monday afternoon, the Florida Hospital Association reported that 13,614 patients were hospitalized with the virus, another record for the state's daily total of hospitalizations; 13,435 hospitalizations were reported Sunday and 13,348 were reported Saturday.
Florida also reported an additional 120 people have died due to the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Late Monday, the Florida Hospital Association said via tweet that the Florida Department of Health raised "questions… about the accuracy of the COVID-19 new case data released" by the CDC and said it was waiting for the DoH to provide clarification.
READ: Florida Department of Health says CDC reported inaccurate COVID-19 data
Florida has been hit hard in recent weeks by a surge caused by the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. The variant has particularly posed a threat to people who are unvaccinated.
Total confirmed new cases of COVID-19 August 9 28,317 (Florida Hospital Association). This number has since been called into question by the Florida Department of Health.
A Florida Hospital Association poll of hospitals indicated 60% expect to have staffing shortages in the next week. Additionally, 23% reported that they will have to expand their patient care areas in the next week into parts of their facilities not currently used for care.
Hospitals across the state have been forced to cancel non-emergency surgical procedures, and some facilities have limited visitation as the numbers of people hospitalized with COVID-19 have increased.
RELATED: Chance of hospitalization, death less than 0.01% for fully vaccinated, data shows
The state of Florida stopped reporting daily COVID-19 statistics in June at the direction of Gov. Ron DeSantis. The Florida Department of Health now issues updates once a week, on Fridays. The FHA and CDC continue to publish data on a daily basis, however.
There remains no source of recovered COVID-19 patient data, or reliable statewide information on breakthrough cases.
Editor's note: The number of new cases and deaths reported each day does not necessarily reflect the day that the case was confirmed. Stats for today and previous days will likely change in the future as the state reviews more cases and updates retroactive data.
COVID UPDATES: Download the free FOX 13 News app for ongoing coronavirus coverage and live updates