Over 1,300 new coronavirus cases in Florida reported Wednesday; 36 new deaths noted
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 1,371 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 67,371.
The number of deaths has reached 2,801, an increase of 36 since Tuesday's update. Locally, Sarasota County reported two new deaths, while Hillsborough Pinellas, Polk, Manatee, and DeSoto each reported one.
Of the 67,371 cases, 65,779 are Florida residents while 1,592 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 3,027
Pinellas: 1,746
Sarasota: 705
Manatee: 1,245
Sumter: 265
Polk: 1,287
Citrus: 130
Hernando: 129
Pasco: 457
Highlands: 153
DeSoto: 299
Hardee: 160
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Wednesday, 11,345 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 1,280,003 people have been tested in the state as of Wednesday -- about 5.95% 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.
Wednesday was the eighth day in a row with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. Experts say that is partly due to more tests being given, but also a result of reopening the state.
RELATED: Florida sees another day of 1,000+ new COVID-19 cases; what's behind the numbers?
Prior to this spike, the state had averaged just over 700 new cases per day in the last 30 days. 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 appeared to trend down, though delays in data reporting make interpreting trends from that statistic less reliable.
Source: Fla. Dept. 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
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