29 deaths, 875 new coronavirus cases reported overnight

In half a day, the state confirmed nearly as many deaths from the novel coronavirus Tuesday as all of Monday.

State health officials report 283 fatalities relating to COVID-19, an increase of 29 from the night before. Officials reported 33 deaths Monday.

And the number of confirmed cases reached 14,504, an increase of 875 overnight. Meanwhile, an additional 58 people, now 1,778, have been hospitalized.

Twelve people died in Palm Beach County overnight, where now 63 Floridians have passed away. The county has the highest death toll in Florida, with a mortality rate of 5.8% among confirmed cases, as South Florida remains the virus’ Florida hot spot. The statewide mortality rate is 2%.

Now 53 people, an additional six, have died in Broward County and 45 people, an increase of 4, have died in Miami-Dade County.

Hernando and Brevard counties recorded their first deaths from the coronavirus.

Nearly 5,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Miami-Dade County, an increase of 326. More than 3,000 of those cases come from Miami alone.

Broward County added 138 cases to reach 2,213 total and Palm Beach County added 54, now with 1,136 cases. Orange County recorded an additional nine cases, now with 763, while Hillsborough County rounds out the top five in total cases with 597, up from 575.

A University of Washington coronavirus pandemic model predicts 242 people could die in Florida each day at the outbreak’s peak. That peak, now penciled in for April 21, is both sooner and costlier than previously predicted, but the model anticipates just as many people to die over the course of the pandemic.

Some major hospitals have five-minute coronavirus test machines ready for use. Gov. Ron DeSantis said those tests could be a game-changer for hospitals inundated with confirmed or suspected coronavirus patients.

In past weeks, the state has had to fight to get testing materials, mainly sampling swabs, with most resources being diverted to Washington or New York. Now, the state has the results of 137,375 people, up from 124,726 the night before. An additional 1,243 are still awaiting their results.

After two days of declining positive cases, 1,214 people tested positive Monday, a 54% increase over the day before. That confirms that Florida’s curve is not yet flattening, just that the state tested fewer people on Monday than usual.

Below are the 29 deaths confirmed since Monday’s evening report:

Brevard: 2 total

— 79-year-old male

— 76-year-old female

Broward: 53 total

— 95-year-old male

— 75-year-old male

— 49-year-old male

— 44-year-old male

— 69-year-old male

— 86-year-old male

Duval: 10 total

— 87-year-old female who had contact with a known case

Escambia: 2 total

— 78-year-old male who had contact with a known case

Hernando: 1 total

— 46-year-old female who had traveled to Illinois and had contact with a known case

Miami-Dade: 45 total

— 75-year-old male who had contact with a known case

— 101-year-old female who had contact with a known case

— 89-year-old male who had contact with a known case

— 82-year-old female

Palm Beach: 63 total

— 83-year-old female who had contact with a known case

— 41-year-old male who had contact with a known case

— 81-year-old male

— 92-year-old male

— 75-year-old female who had contact with a known case

— 88-year-old male

— 89-year-old male

— 79-year-old female

— 90-year-old female

— 76-year-old female

— 82-year-old female

— 92-year-old male

St. Lucie: 6 total

— 82-year-old male

Sumter: 7 total

— 76-year-old male

— 89-year-old female who had contact with a known case