Florida’s COVID-19 cases climb more than 4,000; another record increase
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 4,049 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 93,797.
The number of deaths has reached 3,144, an increase of 40 since Friday's update. Locally, a 17-year-old male from Pasco County died from COVID-19. Hillsborough County is reporting five new deaths, Manatee County is reporting two and Pinellas and Polk Counties are all reporting one additional death from the virus.
Of the 93,797 cases, 91,670 are Florida residents while 2,127 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 5,319
Pinellas: 3,438
Sarasota: 926
Manatee: 1,786
Sumter: 282
Polk: 1,970
Citrus: 183
Hernando: 171
Pasco: 750
Highlands: 215
DeSoto: 439
Hardee: 272
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Saturday, 12,939 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
Source: Florida Department of Health
A total of 1,562,280 people have been tested in the state as of Saturday -- about 7.2 % of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.
RELATED: Doctors urge parents to know the signs as they see uptick in child COVID-19 cases
Tampa, St. Pete give away masks after requirements kick in
Now that masks are required to be worn in public, indoor settings in Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor is offering free face coverings to anyone who needs them, as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Mayor Rick Kriseman and the city of St. Petersburg are doing the same.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the recent case increases are largely due to testing of "high-risk" individuals like farmworkers in the state's rural counties, prisoners, and residents of long-term care facilities, though he separately noted that long-term-care cases were flat.
Prior to this spike, the state had averaged just over 700 new cases per day in the last 30 days. That was a level that the health care system could 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 "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
Source: Florida Department of Health
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
CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: What you need to know
AROUND THE WORLD: CoronavirusNOW.com