4,044 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Saturday; 87 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 4,044 Saturday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 752,481.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 15,917, an increase of 87 since Friday's update. In addition, a total of 201 non-Floridians have died in the state.
Locally, Hillsborough County reported seven new deaths, Pinellas reported five, Polk reported four, Sarasota and Manatee each reported two and Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, DeSoto and Highlands Counties each reported one new death.
Of the 752,481 cases, 743,018 are Florida residents while 9,463 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 45,275
Pinellas: 23,982
Sarasota: 8,969
Manatee: 12,488
Sumter: 2,742
Polk: 21,713
Citrus: 3,030
Hernando: 3,425
Pasco: 10,169
Highlands: 2,431
DeSoto: 1,620
Hardee: 1,524
SOURCE: Florida Department of Health
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Saturday, 2,046 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 46,976 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 5,711,339 Florida residents have been tested in the state as of Saturday -- about 26.5% 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
The number of new cases has generally trended down over the last few weeks, mirroring the number of tests being given. Gov. Ron DeSantis says that's good enough to move to Phase 3 of the reopening plan.
The rate of positive new tests has declined from its summertime peak, remaining below 10% for two months. It was at 5.21% on Friday, the most recent date available.
After peaking in July, the number of deaths also began a downward trend in August that continued through September -- 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. 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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