Inpatients with COVID-19 down by nearly 1,200

The number of inpatients with COVID-19 at Florida hospitals dropped by nearly 1,200 over the past week. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted data Friday that showed 4,240 inpatients at 257 Florida hospitals had COVID-19, down from 5,414 inpatients reported Oct. 1. 

The number of inpatients reported Friday was less than a third of the 13,452 who were hospitalized on Sept. 8. 

Hospitals were hit with surges of patients in July and August as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus spread across the state. But the numbers gradually declined in September and in early October. 

The federal data Friday showed that 1,103 patients with COVID-19 were in intensive-care unit beds, down from 1,425 a week earlier.

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