Florida tops 26,000 COVID-19 cases, new record high

Funeral directors say half of death certificates say COVID 19

The pandemic is putting new pressure on funeral homes as people in that industry try to keep up with the number of people dying from COVID 19 and they know the delta variant may not be the last.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida reported 26,203 new COVID-19 infections and nine deaths Tuesday, according to data posted Wednesday by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A seven-day "moving" average for infections was 21,604 cases as of Tuesday.

Cumulatively, Florida has had 3,130,144 cases of COVID-19 and 42,731 deaths since the start of the pandemic in early 2020, according to the federal government data.

Meanwhile, 50 Florida hospitals on Wednesday reported having critical staffing shortages, while 47 reported expecting critical staffing shortages by the end of the week.

Woman released from hospital to find husband dead at home

They were diagnosed with COVID around the same time, but she had to be hospitalized. When she got home, her husband had died.

Patients with COVID-19 filled 17,164 inpatient beds, and 2,271 adults and 90 children were admitted to hospitals on Tuesday with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data posted on the federal Department of Health and Human Services website.

A little more than 94% of the state’s adult intensive-care unit beds were occupied. Nearly 36% of the inpatients in Florida have COVID-19, according to the data.

Image of CDC website showing graph of daily COVID cases reported by Florida, as of Aug. 25

MORE: Tampa pediatric nurse, mother of 3, dies from COVID-19

Daughters devastated by loss of mother, nurse

Nikki Bass' life revolved around children. Her three girls were the center of her world. Her second love was her patients in the pediatric wing of Saint Joseph's Hospital in Tampa. Nurse Nikki died from COVID 19.