6,933 Florida coronavirus cases reported Friday; 73 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 6,933 Friday. According to the state's daily update, the total number of cases in Florida is now 870,552.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 17,445, an increase of 73 since Thursday's update. In addition, a total of 214 non-Floridians have died in the state.
Locally, Pasco County is reporting eight new deaths, Polk and Sarasota Counties are reporting three, Pinellas and DeSoto Counties are reporting two, while Hernando, Pinellas and Hardee Counties are each reporting one new death.
Of the 870,552 cases, 858,585 are Florida residents while 11,967 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
- Hillsborough: 52,330
- Pinellas: 28,746
- Sarasota: 10,951
- Manatee: 14,522
- Sumter: 3,140
- Polk: 24,941
- Citrus: 3,828
- Hernando: 4,196
- Pasco: 12,319
- Highlands: 3,104
- DeSoto: 1,766
- Hardee: 1,680
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, 3,100 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 51,542 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 7,283,961 residents have been tested in the state as of Friday -- about a third 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. Department of Health
The number of new cases had generally been trending down in September, mirroring the number of tests being given. But it has begun to increase again. The 6,933 new cases reported Friday was the highest since August 12.
The rate of positive new tests has declined from its summertime peak, remaining below 10% for two months, but it has begun to increase again. It was at 7.95% on Thursday, 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.
The state announced last month that it was taking a closer look at those delays and how deaths are tallied, even as Florida moved past New Jersey with the fourth-highest number of deaths in the country.
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Source: Fla. 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, 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
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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