Florida surpasses 800,000 coronavirus cases Friday
Florida surpassed 800,000 total coronavirus infections since the start of the pandemic.
On Friday the state logged 5,592 additional infections, according to the Florida Department of Health. Since the first diagnosed case in March, 800,216 coronavirus infections have been recorded. More than 100,000 tests were processed on Thursday.
The weekly case average increased to 4,062 infections announced per day. This is the first time it has reached more than 4,000 since Aug. 21 during a summer surge of COVID-19 cases.
Florida also added 73 coronavirus deaths Friday, bringing the overall death toll to 16,927 people. The weekly death average dipped slightly to about 54 people announced dead per day.
Hospitalizations: About 2,330 people across Florida are hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of coronavirus, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration. About 480 of those are in the Tampa Bay area.
About 22 percent of hospital beds and 24 percent of intensive care unit beds were available statewide. In Tampa Bay, about 21 percent of hospital beds and 22 percent of ICU beds were available.
Cases that resulted in a hospitalization increased by 178 admissions.
Positivity: Florida’s average weekly positivity rate is about 5 percent, according to both the Florida Department of Health and Johns Hopkins University.
The university changed how they measured Florida’s positivity this week. Before, the group would count an individual’s first coronavirus test only. Now the metric reflects the volume of retests.
If positivity is too high it can indicate there isn’t widespread testing and that mild cases of the virus are undetected. The World Health Organization set a recommendation for a 5 percent positivity rate or below.
Local numbers: Tampa Bay added 1,043 coronavirus cases and 31 deaths Friday.
Hillsborough County recorded 22 deaths, Polk recorded five, Pinellas had two and both Pasco and Citrus counties had one death each.
Hillsborough leads the area with the highest average weekly positivity rate at about 6 percent, followed by Polk, Pinellas and Citrus at 5 percent and Hernando and Pasco at 4 percent.
As of the latest counts, Hillsborough has 48,148 cases and 825 deaths; Pinellas has 25,921 cases and 825 deaths; Polk has 23,088 cases and 622 deaths; Manatee has 13,403 cases and 332 deaths; Pasco has 10,923 cases and 245 deaths; Hernando has 2,757 cases and 174 deaths; and Citrus has 3,260 cases and 136 deaths.
• • •
HOW CORONAVIRUS IS SPREADING IN FLORIDA: Find the latest numbers for your county, city or zip code.
FACE MASKS: Read the latest on guidelines, tips for comfort and long-term wear
GET THE DAYSTARTER MORNING UPDATE: Sign up to receive the most up-to-date information.
THE CORONAVIRUS SCRAPBOOK: We collected your stories, pictures, songs, recipes, journals and more to show what life has been like during the pandemic.
A TRIBUTE TO THE FLORIDIANS TAKEN BY THE CORONAVIRUS: They were parents and retirees, police officer and doctors, imperfect but loved deeply.
HAVE A TIP?: Send us confidential news tips
We’re working hard to bring you the latest news on