Scott Powers
Central Florida’s coronavirus caseloads, positive test rates and numbers of deaths associated with COVID-19 remained relatively high, but relatively steady with the first state reports of the week released Monday.
Greater Orlando — Brevard, like Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties — are seeing positive tests, new cases, and COVID-19 related death rates at lower levels than at the pandemic’s worst impact on Central Florida in July.
But the pandemic still is ravaging Central Florida at a rate higher than was seen seen in most other times since the outbreak began in March.
Over the past week, the region has seen about 1,000 new cases per day; a coronavirus testing regimen that is finding the disease in about 6% of people tested; and about 10 people dying due to the disease each day.
On Monday the Florida Department of Heath’s latest report showed 1,025 new cases through Sunday in Central Florida. That included 520 new cases in Orange, 148 in Volusia, 141 in Seminole, 106 in Osceola, 62 in Brevard, and 48 in Lake. The Lake, Osceola and Brevard numbers of new cases were the lowest any of those counties had seen in a week. But Orange, Seminole and Volusia counts were up significantly over previous days.
Orange and Osceola counties saw 7% positive-test rates on tests reported into Saturday, while Volusia’s rate was 6%, Brevard’s 5%, and Lake’s 4%. All were below the statewide average of 8%, as Central Florida’s test rates have been consistently for the past couple of weeks.
Authorities reported two new COVID-19 related deaths in Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties, and one in Lake County. Orange County, which has not had a death attributed to COVID-19 in three days, has seen 645 people die because of the disease since the outbreak emerged in March. Brevard County has suffered 444 such deaths, Volusia County, 370; Seminole County, 276; Lake County, 255; and Osceola County, 243.
During the pandemic’s peak in early- and mid-July in Central Florida, the region sometimes saw as many as 2,000 new cases reported per day. During that time, positive-test rates consistently were in double-digits in most counties, as high as 20% occasionally. Coronavirus-related deaths peaked a couple of weeks later, in early August, when it was not unusual for authorities to report 25-50 new fatalities per day across Central Florida.
