Over 1,300 new coronavirus cases in Florida reported Wednesday; 36 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 1,317 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 58,764.
The number of deaths has reached 2,566, an increase of 36 since Tuesday's update. Locally, Hillsborough County reported two new deaths while Polk noted one.
Of the 58,764 cases, 57,293 are Florida residents while 1,471 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 2,384
Pinellas: 1,361
Sarasota: 649
Manatee: 1,110
Sumter: 258
Polk: 1,074
Citrus: 122
Hernando: 120
Pasco: 398
Highlands: 134
DeSoto: 205
Hardee: 111
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Wednesday, 10,525 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 1,081,825 people have been tested in the state as of Wednesday -- about 5% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.
LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map
Florida resident cases in orange; Florida resident deaths in gray. Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.
The number of new cases reported Wednesday appeared to reflect the largest single-day increase in the last month, and one of the largest since the epidemic began.
In the last 30 days, the state has averaged just over 700 new cases per day. That’s down to a level that the health care system can handle, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis. And while the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has trended down.
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
Map of known COVID-19 cases:
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