29 die of COVID-19 since Saturday morning as Florida adds 689 new cases

enlarged coronavirus, covid-19 under the flag of Florida state. Pandemic of respiratory disease
On Saturday, 830 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed.

The coronavirus outbreak took 29 more lives in Florida since Saturday morning, while the state’s caseload increased by 689 confirmed cases.

The latest figures released by the Florida Department of Health find there now have been 31,528 people who’ve been confirmed with the virus in Florida since the outbreak began in early March including 1,074 who have died.

Nearly 5,000, 4,957, have been admitted to a hospital.

According to the latest numbers, there now have been 11,351 cases in Miami-Dade County, which has also suffered 301 COVD-19 deaths. In Broward County, 4,729 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, and 170 people have died. In Palm Beach County, there now have been 2,697 cases and 155 deaths.

Outside of South Florida, Orange County continues to have the next largest outbreak, with 1,322 confirmed cases of the virus, and 30 deaths through Sunday morning.

Overall, Saturday saw confirmations of 830 new cases of COVID-19 in Florida. That’s a drop from Thursday’s unexpected spike in confirmed cases when more than 1,200 people tested positive. Still, Saturday was the 11th consecutive day that Florida has had at least 700 new cases, and the 27th time in the past four weeks that many cases have emerged in a single day.

The statewide number of new coronavirus cases peaked on April 3, when just over 1,300 people tested positive.

Elsewhere, Hillsborough County now has recorded 1,048 cases and 21 deaths; Duval County, 984 cases and 18 deaths; Lee County, 961 cases and 37 deaths; Pinellas County, 687 cases and 24 deaths; Collier County, 552 cases and 15 deaths; Sarasota County, 508 cases and 42 deaths and Osceola County with 463 cases and seven deaths.

The Sunday morning report likely will help color Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Re-Open Florida Task Force report. The group met for the final time Friday before members, and the public’s chance to submit their recommendations on how to safely restart the state economy are due by Sunday. The task force’s final recommendations for the state’s short term response should be on the Governor’s desk next week.

Scott Powers

Scott Powers is an Orlando-based political journalist with 30+ years’ experience, mostly at newspapers such as the Orlando Sentinel and the Columbus Dispatch. He covers local, state and federal politics and space news across much of Central Florida. His career earned numerous journalism awards for stories ranging from the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster to presidential elections to misplaced nuclear waste. He and his wife Connie have three grown children. Besides them, he’s into mystery and suspense books and movies, rock, blues, basketball, baseball, writing unpublished novels, and being amused. Email him at [email protected].


9 comments

  • Mask Free

    April 26, 2020 at 12:50 pm

    With all due respect, publishing only the # of new positive tests and # of deaths is totally irresponsible if you do not include more information such as how many people have been tested, and more information about the deaths: how many were in nursing homes? How many of the victims had other prevalent health issues?

    From the information in this article, one can calculate that of the total number of positive tests to date, approximately 16% required hospitalization. Of those hospitalized, approximately 22% have died — less than 3% of the positive tested persons.

    But even those numbers are deceiving. How many of the persons tested were symptomatic? How many people tested have tested negative?

    Until we have a reliable antibodies test that is widely and randomly administered, it is quite impossible to know just how Unthreatening this virus is. Publishing incomplete numbers is counterproductive and deceiving.

  • John Kociuba

    April 26, 2020 at 1:10 pm

    Dear Floridians ~

    Re: Florida Health Department

    Lies! Lies! Lies! More Lies!

    COVID 19 test is 45% accurate because Corona virus has been in the United States for decades! 36 different forms. 4 are bad like Flu and China was tampering with genetic alterations but did a crap azz job.

    Do not get tested if you’re old! Information is that the swabs are infected with Coronavirus.

  • Dina

    April 26, 2020 at 2:27 pm

    Anyone who got the flu shot will most likely test positive is my guess.

  • Carol

    April 26, 2020 at 6:51 pm

    Don’t reopen Florida yet! Wait til the numbers show a drastic decline and also until more people are tested!!! Why do the SAH order and social distancing if you are just going to give up?!

    • Mask Free

      April 26, 2020 at 7:20 pm

      Carol,
      It is not a matter of giving up. It is an issue that we have voluntarily committed economic and social suicide based on bad computer models. We now know enough to know this is not the killer virus we were misled to believe.
      Any politician or other authority who is stalling or pushing back against reopening our state is not looking at facts.
      I will guess, Carol, that you are not concerned about losing your home or car or business or putting food on the table for your family.

      Unfortunately many Americans are dealing with real issues. Suicides are up. We are killing the hopes and dreams of our youth as they see we are bankrupting our nation and their future.

      The first thing an EMS team does is stop the bleeding and keep the victim breathing.
      It is past time to apply first aid to our economy.

  • Ron

    April 27, 2020 at 12:36 am

    The Trumpians say this a con why don’t they go to the nursing homes here in the state and sit with A 103 old gasping for air in their lungs,how many have seen a person on a ventilator, ahuge pipe in their throat breathing for that person. They said the flu caused more deaths, that may or may not be true? If we don’t stop and think about contact tracing ,mass,antibodies testing how can we stop this person to person spreading.

  • Sonja Fitch

    April 27, 2020 at 6:48 am

    Test every 6 weeks based on high school districts til vaccine available. Until 24 hour test results. Monitor social distancing and masks.

Comments are closed.


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