Over 1,300 new Florida coronavirus cases reported Friday; third day of large increase

The Florida Department of Health says the number of known cases of COVID-19 in the state rose by 1,305 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 61,488.

The number of deaths has reached 2,660, an increase of 53 since Thursday's update. Locally, Manatee County reported five new deaths, while Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Sarasota each reported three.

Of the 61,488 cases, 59,993 are Florida residents while 1,495 are non-Florida residents currently in the state.

Bay Area COVID-19 cases by the numbers:

Hillsborough: 2,554

Pinellas: 1,478

Sarasota: 658

Manatee: 1,162

Sumter: 261

Polk: 1,127

Citrus: 125

Hernando: 122

Pasco: 416

Highlands: 141

DeSoto: 245

Hardee: 131

The state is not reporting a total number of "recovered" coronavirus patients or those currently hospitalized. As of Thursday, 10,794 people had been hospitalized for treatment at some point.

A total of 1,135,865 people have been tested in the state as of Friday -- about 5.2% 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.

The number of new cases reported yesterday appeared to reflect the largest single-day increase in the last month, and one of the largest since the epidemic began -- the second day in a row with such an increase. Friday's increase was nearly as high, marking three straight days of a much higher-than-average increase.

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.

RELATED: Florida 'phase two' begins today, despite increase in COVID-19 infection rate

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

AROUND THE WORLD: CoronavirusNOW.com

Map of known COVID-19 cases:

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