17,192 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Thursday; 127 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 17,192 Thursday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 1,323,315.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 21,673, an increase of 127 since Wednesday's update. In addition, a total of 317 non-Floridians have died in the state.

Locally, Manatee County reported 11 new deaths, Polk County reported six, Citrus County reported five, Pinellas County reported four, Hillsborough and Hernando Counties each reported three, Sarasota and Highlands Counties each reported two, while Pasco and DeSoto Counties each reported one new death.

Of the 1,323,315 cases, 1,300,528 are Florida residents while 22,787 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 77,118
Pinellas: 44,975
Sarasota: 18,607
Manatee: 22,332
Sumter: 5,085
Polk: 37,403
Citrus: 6,663
Hernando: 7,336
Pasco: 21,932
Highlands: 4,975
DeSoto: 2,898
Hardee: 2,110

Florida new resident cases in orange; new resident deaths in gray. Note: Deaths usually appear to be trending down because of the delay in confirming the last few days of data. Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Thursday, 6,363 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 65 since Wednesday, with a state total of 62,868 having been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

Vaccination efforts are ramping up across the state. Wednesday, 35,700 more residents received their initial vaccine dose, bringing the total to 175,465. No one has yet received their second and final dose.

Source: FL Dept. 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 17,192 new cases reported Thursday 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 11.57% on Wednesday, 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: FL Dept. 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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