Florida reports 10K new COVID-19 cases Thursday

State officials reported 10,109 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, the first time Florida has recorded more than 10,000 cases in a 24 hour period.

In total, 169,106 people, including 166,303 residents, have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus since March.

Another 67 residents died and one non-Floridian died in the state, more than in recent weeks, raising those death tolls to 3,617 and 101 respectively. An additional 325 residents were hospitalized, also a jump over recent weeks, raising the count during the pandemic to 15,150.

The previous record number of newly reported cases came in Saturday’s report covering the previous 24-hours, when the Department of Health (DOH) showed 9,585 new cases.

The daily percent positivity rate has trended upward over the past two weeks. For Wednesday, the most recent complete day available, the percent positivity rate among people who had not previously tested positive was 14.6%.

From Wednesday morning to Thursday morning, officials confirmed 10,109 cases. For Wednesday only, the state confirmed 9,558 cases.

The numbers can vary depending on the data analyzed. Report to report numbers include cases reported from one morning report to the next, which can be higher than the total number reported on a single day.

DeSantis has also said the pandemic’s growth is mostly, if not exclusively, limited to young Floridians. The median age of new cases plummeted from the 50s to the early and mid-30s in the last few weeks, returning to 37 Wednesday.

At the time of publication, with 29 more people in adult ICUs, 5,017 of the state’s 6,035 adult ICU beds are filled, leaving just 17% available. That’s a lower percentage over recent weeks, but greater availability than the state had before the pandemic.

Officials have tested 2 million people for COVID-19 in the state, including 68,821 individuals Wednesday, a jump of more than 20,000 from the day before.

While South Florida remains the largest hot spot, cases are also growing in Central Florida, Southwest Florida and the Jacksonville area.

DOH reported 2,304 new cases in Miami-Dade County, where now 40,265 have tested positive. Broward County added 961 cases to reach 17,116 and Palm Beach County has 14,859 overall, including 412 more in Thursday’s report.

Hillsborough County has 12,376 after receiving 911 new positives. Cases in Pinellas County are also on the rise with 7,249 total, an increase of 388.

Orange County, another resurgent county, now has 11,458 cases after counting 584 new positives.

Duval County reports 7,247 total cases, an increase of 767.

Lee County shows 6,223 cases, a jump of 354 cases. And Collier County had an increase of 163 cases to hit 4,539 overall.

As the weather heats up and the 4th of July weekend approaches, DeSantis is encouraging Floridians take to beaches and parks for recreation rather than indoor options.

“Obviously, it needs to be controlled … but by and large the virus does not like sunshine, heat, and humidity,” DeSantis said, adding that “very few outbreaks from something like a park or a beach” occur.

U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio warned Wednesday that in light of the COVID-19 surge, Florida hospitals are strained by the pressures the increased patient load imposes, even if as many as 40% of “hospitalizations” are there primarily for other issues.