6,236 new Florida coronavirus cases Thursday; 148 new deaths

The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 6,236 Thursday as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 557,137.

The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 8,913, an increase of 148 since Wednesday's update. In addition, a total of 134 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Pinellas County reported 14 new deaths, Polk reported nine, Pasco reported five, Highlands reported three, while Hillsborough and Sarasota each reported one.

Of the 557,137 cases, 551,232 are Florida residents while 5,905 are non-Florida residents currently in the state. 

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.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

  • Hillsborough: 33,428
  • Pinellas: 18,329
  • Sarasota: 6,479
  • Manatee: 9,554
  • Sumter: 1,410
  • Polk: 14,992
  • Citrus: 1,663
  • Hernando: 2,124
  • Pasco: 7,283
  • Highlands: 1,523
  • DeSoto: 1,393
  • Hardee: 998

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Thursday, 6,348 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 32,537 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 4,128,584 people have been tested in the state as of Thursday -- about 19.2% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.

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

Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.

Today's new case number represents the 72nd straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period, but has begun to trend down slightly. It was at 9.52% on Wednesday, the most recent date available.

As the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has also reflected the same upward trend -- though "significant delays" in data reporting, as the state says, make interpreting short-term trends from that statistic less reliable.

The 276 new deaths reported Tuesday was the largest single daily increase so far during the pandemic.

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

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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