Drew Dixon
The five-county First Coast region added more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases, according to Florida Department of Health data released Wednesday.
There are now 84,961 cases of COVID-19 in the Northeast Florida area. That’s up 1,080 cases from the previous day.
That’s the first time in a week the First Coast has added more than 1,000 new cases in a day. Dec. 17 saw 79,269 cases on the First Coast, which was an increase of 1,107 cases from the previous day. The Dec. 16 figure was also a jump of more than 1,000 cases.
Deaths caused by COVID-19 saw a notable increase as well, climbing 14 and crossing the 1,100 mark. There have now been 1,104 deaths in the region attributed to the pandemic.
The death toll alone has accelerated rapidly this month. On Dec. 1 there were 959 deaths caused by COVID-19, up 145 so far this month, which is a 13% jump in just three weeks.
While many Northeast Florida counties have been flirting with the 10% rate for positive tests for the illness, all five counties exceeded that level Wednesday.
— Jacksonville had a 10.52% positivity test rate Wednesday with 56,229 infections and five new deaths for a total of 711.
— Clay County had a positivity test rate of 14.15% with 10,289 cases of COVID-19 and nine new deaths for a total of 183.
— Johns County had a 10.65% positivity test rate with 11,818 cases and held steady at 109 deaths.
— Nassau County had a positivity test rate of 16.41%, recording 4,272 total cases and remaining at 65 deaths.
— Baker County recorded a 14.91% positivity rate with 2,353 cases and holding at 36 deaths.
Across Florida, there are now 1,234,399 cases of coronavirus and 21,173 deaths attributed to the illness.
