Florida's cases of COVID-19 increased more than 2,500 Saturday; largest jump on record

TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 2,583 since yesterday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 73,552.

The number of deaths has reached 2,925, an increase of 48 since Friday's update.

Of the 73,552 cases, 71,589 are Florida residents while 1,963 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 3,504

Pinellas: 2,103

Sarasota: 741

Manatee: 1,353

Sumter: 266

Polk: 1,414

Citrus: 140

Hernando: 135

Pasco: 484

Highlands: 170

DeSoto: 348

Hardee: 189

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Saturday,11,874 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 1,371,401 people have been tested in the state as of Friday -- about 6.2% 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

Saturday's total new cases represents the largest single-day increase in new cases since the beginning of the pandemic, eclipsing Friday's record, and the 11th day in a row with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. Experts say that is partly due to more tests being given, but also a result of reopening the state. The rate of positive tests has also increased slightly during that time period.

Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the recent increases were largely due to spread among farmworkers in the state's rural counties, along with more widespread testing by employers as Floridians return to work.

Prior to this spike, the state had averaged just over 700 new cases per day in the last 30 days. That’s a level that the health care system can handle, according to Gov. DeSantis. And while the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has appeared to trend down, though delays in data reporting make interpreting trends from that statistic less reliable.

As Florida continues taking steps to ease restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts say new cases and more deaths are expected.

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. The number of non-Florida residents who have died from the coronavirus while in the state is not reported.

If you feel sick:

The Florida Department of Health has 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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