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3,815 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Friday; 89 new deaths

Published  August 28, 2020 10:56am EDT
Coronavirus in Florida
FOX 13 News

Pinellas to keep COVID-19 measures in place

Recent positive COVID-19 trends led to an intense discussion during Thursday's Pinellas County Commission meeting. They talked about whether it's time to ease up on restrictions, like the mask mandate.

TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 3,815 Friday as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 615,806.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 10,957, an increase of 89 since Thursday's update. In addition, a total of 142 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Pinellas and Polk counties each reported four new deaths, Sarasota reported three, Highlands reported two, while Citrus, Pasco, Hillsborough, Manatee, and DeSoto each reported one.

Of the 615,806 cases, 609,074 are Florida residents while 6,732 are non-Florida residents currently in the state. 

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

  • Hillsborough: 36,574
  • Pinellas: 19,740
  • Sarasota: 7,136
  • Manatee: 10,340
  • Sumter: 1,819
  • Polk: 16,692
  • Citrus: 2,054
  • Hernando: 2,516
  • Pasco: 7,949
  • Highlands: 1,795
  • DeSoto: 1,468
  • Hardee: 1,083

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 Friday, 4,003 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 38,029 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 4,535,184 residents have been tested in the state as of Friday -- about 21.1% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.

LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map

Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.

Today's new case number represents the 87th 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 two weeks. It was at 5.73% on Thursday, 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. The number of deaths has been on an upward trend -- 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.

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

CORONAVIRUS IN FLORIDA: What you need to know

AROUND THE WORLD: CoronavirusNOW.com

Map of known COVID-19 cases:

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