3,656 new coronavirus cases reported Saturday; 61 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 3,656 Saturday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 643,867.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 11,811 an increase of 61 since Friday's update. In addition, a total of 152 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Polk County is reporting four new deaths, Pinellas and Citrus Counties are reporting two new deaths each, and Hernando and Hillsborough Counties are each reporting one new death.
Of the 643,867 cases, 636,653 are Florida residents while 7,214 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 38,081
Pinellas: 20,207
Sarasota: 7,315
Manatee: 10,524
Sumter: 2,012
Polk: 17,633
Citrus: 2,290
Hernando: 2,746
Pasco: 8,214
Highlands: 1,879
DeSoto: 1,519
Hardee: 1,143
SOURCE: Florida Department of Health
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Saturday, 3,244 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 39,912 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 4,770,876 residents have been tested in the state as of Saturday -- about 22.2% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.
LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map
SOURCE: Florida Department of Health
Today's new case number represents the 95th straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. The rate of positive new tests increased during that time period, but has begun to trend down, remaining below 10% for over two weeks. It was at 5.99% on Friday, the most recent date available.
The number of new cases has generally trended down over the last few weeks, mirroring the number of tests being given. After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.
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. 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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Map of known COVID-19 cases:
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