Over 2,600 new Florida coronavirus cases in Wednesday's update; total deaths top 3,000
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 2,610 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 82,719.
The number of deaths has reached 3,018, an increase of 25 since Tuesday's update. Locally, Pinellas County reported three new deaths while Hillsborough, and Manatee each noted one.
Of the 82,719 cases, 80,676 are Florida residents while 2,043 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 4,273
Pinellas: 2,684
Sarasota: 803
Manatee: 1,523
Sumter: 269
Polk: 1,634
Citrus: 157
Hernando: 147
Pasco: 583
Highlands: 197
DeSoto: 406
Hardee: 221
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Wednesday, 12,389 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 1,486,759 people have been tested in the state as of Wednesday -- about 6.9% 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.
Tuesday's total new cases represented the largest single-day increase in new cases since the beginning of the pandemic, eclipsing Saturday's record. Wednesday was the 15th 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. The rate of positive tests has increased slightly during that time period.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the recent 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 separately noted that long-term-care cases were flat.
Prior to this spike, the state had averaged just over 700 new cases per day in the last 30 days. That was a level that the health care system could handle, according to Gov. 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.
RELATED: DeSantis vows to keep state open as COVID-19 case numbers soar
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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Map of known COVID-19 cases:
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