Over 6,500 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Wednesday; 45 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 6,563 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 158,997.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 3,550, an increase of 45 since Tuesday's update. Another 100 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Pinellas County reported six new deaths, Polk reported four, and Pasco and Hillsborough each reported two.
Of the 158,997 cases,156,288 are Florida residents while 2,653 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 11,465
Pinellas: 6,861
Sarasota: 1,601
Manatee: 3,015
Sumter: 368
Polk: 4,048
Citrus: 323
Hernando: 408
Pasco: 2,133
Highlands: 365
DeSoto: 634
Hardee: 440
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Wednesday, 14,825 Floridians had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 1,981,915 people have been tested in the state as of Wednesday -- about 9.2% 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's total new cases represented the 29th straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day after the state set another new record on Saturday.
The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period. It was at 15% on Tuesday, the most recent date available.
Source: Fla. Dept. 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 also noted the "erosion" in social distancing, especially among the younger demographics in social setting. That prompted him to order all bars to cease serving alcohol Friday.
While the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has appeared to remain flat or even trend down, though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
Source: Fla. Dept. 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.
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
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