Florida's COVID-19 cases top 430,000 in Monday's report; 77 new deaths
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TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 8,892 since Sunday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 432,747.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 5,931, an increase of 77 since Sunday's update. Another 118 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Pinellas County is reporting five new deaths; Hillsborough and Polk Counties are each reporting three new deaths; Sumter, Manatee and Sarasota counties are each reporting two new deaths; and Hardee is reporting one new death.
Of the 432,747 cases, 427,698 are Florida residents while 5,049 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 27,483 (up by 406 since Sunday's report)
Pinellas: 15,339 (up by 192 since Sunday's report)
Sarasota: 5,168 (up by 65 since Sunday's report)
Manatee: 7,982 (up by 123 since Sunday's report)
Sumter: 1,003 (up by 11 since Sunday's report)
Polk: 11,717 (up by 294 since Sunday's report)
Citrus: 1,102 (up by 19 since Sunday's report)
Hernando: 1,490 (up by 36 since Sunday's report)
Pasco: 5,911 (up by 108 since Sunday's report)
Highlands: 1,068 (up by 29 since Sunday's report)
DeSoto: 1,205 (up by 33 since Sunday's report)
Hardee: 789 (up by 8 since Sunday's report)
(Source: Florida Department of Health)
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Monday, 9,095 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 24,332 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 3,436,270 people have been tested in the state as of Sunday -- about 15.9% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.
LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map
Today's new case number represents the 55th straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period. It was at 11.39% on Sunday, the most recent date available.
As the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has also reflected the same upward trend -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
The 173 new deaths reported Thursday was the largest number of daily new deaths since the pandemic began. The previous high was 156 deaths added July 16.
PDF: DOH's full county-by-county COVID-19 case report
(Source: Florida Department of Health)
Experts say the current spike is partly due to more tests being given, but also a result of reopening the state.
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 has more recently noted the "erosion" in social distancing, especially among the younger demographics in social setting. That prompted him to order all bars to cease serving alcohol.
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.