Staff Reports
The Florida Department of Health reported 1,736 new COVID-19 cases and 34 new Florida resident deaths on Monday.
According to the Florida Department of Health, there have now been 665,730 COVID-19 cases in Florida including 658,203 Florida residents. Meanwhile, 12,642 Florida residents have died while infected with the virus. In combination with non-resident deaths, the death toll now stands at 12,800, according to the dashboard. The most deaths confirmed in a single daily report was 276 on Aug. 11.
Meanwhile, 2,637 people statewide have been hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of Monday afternoon. The median age of those who’ve tested positive is 40-years old, according to the state’s dashboard.
Of the 47,014 Floridians tested in the latest 24-hour reporting window, 45,187 tested negative. The current percent positive rate is 3.89%.
The latest numbers come as bars and breweries begin reopening Monday. On Thursday, Department of Business and Professional Regulation Secretary Halsey Beshears signed an executive order rescinding restrictions placed on bars a mere three weeks after reopening them in June after a surge in cases.
Alcohol vendors may now operate at 50% capacity, allow bar service to seated patrons, and permit outdoor seating and service with appropriate social distancing, according to the order.
“In meetings with hundreds of owners of bars and breweries across the state, I’ve heard their stories of struggle, and I’ve observed their serious commitment to making health and safety a continuing priority in their businesses,” the Secretary said in a statement. “It’s time that we take this step, and it’s vital that we start moving forward with this sector of our hospitality industry who have endured one of the toughest paths for sustaining a business during this pandemic.”
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, roughly 4.9 million people have been tested in Florida.
Editor’s note on methodology: The Florida Department of Health releases new data every morning around 10:45 a.m. The total number reported in those daily reports include the previous day’s totals as well as the most up-to-date data as of about 9:30 a.m.
Florida Politics uses the report-over-report increase to document the number of new cases each day because it represents the most up-to-date data available. Some of the more specific data, including positivity rates and demographics, consider a different data set that includes only cases reported the previous day.
This is important to note because the DOH report lists different daily totals than our methodology to show day-over-day trends. Their numbers do not include nonresidents who tested positive in the state and they only include single-day data; therefore, some data in the DOH report may appear lower than what we report.
Our methodology was established based on careful consideration among our editorial staff to capture both the most recent and accurate trends.
