Florida's COVID-19 cases top 480,000 in Saturday's report; 179 new deaths
TAMPA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 9,642 since Friday morning as the virus spreads and as more people are tested across the state. The total number of cases in Florida is now 480,028.
The number of Florida resident deaths has reached 7,022 an increase of 179 since Friday's update. In addition, a total of 122 non-Floridians have died in the state. Locally, Hillsborough County is reporting, Pinellas County is reporting five, Manatee and Highlands Counties are each reporting three, Citrus, Sumter Counties are each reporting two, Hernando, Polk and DeSoto are each reporting one.
Of the 480,028 cases, 474,621 are Florida residents while 5,407 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.
Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:
Hillsborough: 29,589
Pinellas: 16,604
Sarasota: 5,672
Manatee: 8,655
Sumter: 1,091
Polk: 12,735
Citrus: 1,228
Hernando: 1,707
Pasco: 6,394
Highlands: 1,197
DeSoto: 1,285
Hardee: 841
Source: Florida Department of Health
The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients. As of Saturday, 7,952 Floridians were currently hospitalized for a primary diagnosis of COVID-19; in total, 26,972 have been hospitalized for treatment at some point.
A total of 3,679,443 people have been tested in the state as of Saturday -- about 17.1% 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
Today's new case number represents the 60th straight day with new cases near or over 1,000 per day. The rate of positive new tests has increased during that time period. It was at 11.08% on Friday, 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 253 new deaths reported Thursday was the largest number of daily new deaths since the pandemic began.
PDF: DOH's full county-by-county COVID-19 case report
Source: Florida Department of Health
Experts say the current spike is partly due to more tests being given, but also a result of reopening the state.
Gov. Ron DeSantis says the recent case increases are largely due to testing of "high-risk" individuals like farmworkers in the state's rural counties, prisoners, and residents of long-term care facilities, though he has more recently noted the "erosion" in social distancing, especially among the younger demographics in social setting. That prompted him to order all bars to cease serving alcohol.
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
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