More than 11,000 new Florida COVID-19 cases Saturday in latest record; 18 new deaths
Hospitals slow elective procedures as COVID-19 cases spike
BayCare’s temporary policy reducing the number of non-urgent surgeries to make room for COVID-19 patients takes effect Friday, July 10, at 5 p.m. at its four acute care hospitals in Pinellas County, which include St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Morton Plant and Mease Countryside hospitals in Clearwater, and Mease Dunedin Hospital.
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 11,458 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 190,052.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 3,702, an increase of 18 since Friday's update. Another 101 non-residents have also died from COVID-19. Locally Hillsborough County is reporting two new deaths and Pinellas County is reporting one new death.
Of the 190,052 cases,187,090 are Florida residents while 2,962 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 13,700
Pinellas: 8,116
Sarasota: 2.059
Manatee: 3,554
Sumter: 408
Polk: 4,906
Citrus: 372
Hernando: 521
Pasco: 2,608
Highlands: 397
DeSoto: 733
Hardee: 504
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Saturday, 15,735 Floridians had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 2,146,497 people have been tested in the state as of Saturday -- about 9.9% 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 case number was the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began.
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 settings. That prompted him to order all bars to cease serving alcohol last week.
While the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has appeared to remain flat, 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
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.