13,871 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Wednesday; 137 new deaths

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TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 13,871 Wednesday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 1,306,123.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 21,546, an increase of 137 since Tuesday's update. In addition, a total of 311 non-Floridians have died in the state.

Locally, Pasco County reported nine new deaths, Manatee County reported seven, Pinellas and Sarasota Counties each reported five, Hillsborough and Polk Counties each reported four, Sumter County reported two and Citrus and Highlands Counties each reported one new death.

Of the 1,306,123 cases, 1,283,701 are Florida residents while 22,422 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 76,221
Pinellas: 44,243
Sarasota: 18,371
Manatee: 21,980
Sumter: 4,951
Polk: 36,766
Citrus: 6,567
Hernando: 7,230
Pasco: 21,602
Highlands: 4,918
DeSoto: 2,883
Hardee: 2,084

SOURCE: Florida Department of Health

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Wednesday, 6,298 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 28 since Tuesday, with a state total of 62,508 having been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

Vaccination efforts are ramping up across the state. Tuesday, 29,305 more residents received their initial vaccine dose, bringing the total to 175,465. No one has yet received their second and final dose.

SOURCE: Florida Department of Health

The number of new cases had generally been trending down in the fall, mirroring the number of tests being given. But it has begun to increase again. The 13,871 new cases reported Wednesday was the highest single-day increase since July.

The rate of positive new tests has declined from its summertime peak, remaining below 10% for several months, but it has also begun to increase again. It was at 8.72% on Tuesday, the most recent date available.

After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August that continued until November -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.

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SOURCE: Florida Department of Health

PDF: DOH's full county-by-county COVID-19 case report

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, and data can take days or weeks to validate. 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.

MAP: Florida coronavirus cases by county

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If you feel sick:

The Florida Department of Health has opened 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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