Coronavirus cases in Florida hit 66,000; 53 new deaths reported
Expert says coronavirus spike is ‘wake-up call’
An unnerving trend appears to be revealing itself when it comes to new coronavirus cases in Florida -- the numbers are going up. Since Tuesday, the state has seen at least six days in a row with more than 1,000 new cases each. Florida had been averaging just 700 a day.
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 1,096 since yesterday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 66,000.
The number of deaths has reached 2,765, an increase of 53 since Monday's update. Locally, Manatee County reported six new deaths, Pinellas noted four, Polk reported three, Hillsborough reported two, while Sarasota reported one.
Of the 66,000 cases, 64,448 are Florida residents while 1,552 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 2.923
Pinellas: 1,679
Sarasota: 694
Manatee: 1,229
Sumter: 264
Polk: 1,243
Citrus: 128
Hernando: 127
Pasco: 442
Highlands: 150
DeSoto: 296
Hardee: 153
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Tuesday, 11,185 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 1,259,283 people have been tested in the state as of Tuesday -- about 5.9% of the state's population -- according to the Florida Department of Health.
LINK: County-by-county Florida coronavirus cases and ZIP code map
Florida resident cases in orange; Florida resident deaths in gray. Source: Fla. Dept. of Health.
Tuesday was the seventh day in a row with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. Experts say that is partly due to more tests being given, but also a result of reopening the state.
RELATED: More tests, more cases: What's behind Florida's coronavirus spike?
Prior to this spike, the state had averaged just over 700 new cases per day in the last 30 days. That’s down to a level that the health care system can handle, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis. And while the number of new cases has trended up over the last few weeks, the number of deaths has appeared to trend down, though delays in data reporting make interpreting trends from that statistic less reliable.
Source: Fla. Dept. of Health
As Florida continues taking steps to ease restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts say new cases and more deaths are expected.
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. The number of non-Florida residents who have died from the coronavirus while in the state is not reported.
If you feel sick:
The Florida Department of Health has 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
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