State health officials identify 256 new COVID-19 cases, 33 deaths overnight

The Department of Health confirmed 256 new cases of the novel coronavirus Thursday morning and added 33 Floridians to the state’s death toll.

Now 28,832 people, including 789 non-Florida residents, have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the state. Florida is nearing 1,000 fatalities, now with 960 dead due to complications from the coronavirus after crossing 900 deaths Wednesday.

Hospitalizations jumped 54 to 4,509. According to Agency for Health Care Administration Secretary Mary Mayhew, 2,200 individuals were still hospitalized in the state as of Wednesday while the others have been released.

The number of positive cases reported in Florida continues to decline or, at the very least, has reached another plateau. Out of 12,637 test results returned Wednesday, 729 people were identified with the coronavirus.

Since April 12, only two days have had more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases identified, coinciding with days of significantly more testing.

The share of positive tests in the number of total tests received has also been dropping, if incrementally. In recent days, the number of positive results has bounced between 9% and 10% after hovering closer to 12% in past weeks.

But in South Florida, the state’s continued hot spot of COVID-19, the percentage of positive tests remains higher. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties alone account for nearly three fifths of the state’s coronavirus cases, and that proportion has been growing.

In Miami-Dade County, 10,356 have tested positive, an increase from 10,289 Wednesday evening, and eight died, raising the state’s death toll to 260. In Broward County, 4,315, up from 4,254, people have tested positive and 156, an increase of nine, Floridians died. In Palm Beach County, 2,468, up from 2,413, have tested positive and 143 Floridians, up 8 since Wednesday, have died.