Jacob Ogles
Florida tallied another nearly 13,000 new cases of COVID-19 overnight as deaths surpasses 25,000 for the first time.
Since the pandemic first arrived in Florida in March, a total of 25,128 died with the coronavirus in their system, according to a Thursday report from the Department of Health. That includes 24,739 Florida residents and 389 individuals who live elsewhere but died in Florida after testing positive for the disease.
The state reported 163 new deaths in its state total compared to data released Wednesday.
In total, 1,613,884 have tested positive for the coronavirus in Florida, including 29,442 visitors from out of state. That’s an increase of 12,873 cases compared to the prior day, with new infections rising at a faster clip than any point prior this week.
A total of 68,282 have been hospitalized, including 350 individuals put in the database in the last 24 hours.
The state reports a 10.72% positivity rate for tests, a lower number than seen in the past two weeks, but health officials hope to get that number below 10%, which would indicate a containment in the spread of the virus. Various agencies in the state reported a total of 18,945 new positives over the course of Wednesday, compared to 157,823 negative test results.
But officials reported an increase in vaccinations as well. A total of 1,183,012 individuals have been inoculated with at least one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. That includes 1,059,041 who received a first shot, and another 123,971 who already got a booster, completing the series. That means another 60,607 individuals were added to the vaccinated list since Wednesday morning.
Gov. Ron DeSantis took some action on Wednesday to cut down on so-called “vaccine tourism,” individuals visiting the state strictly to receive the vaccine. The state will now require proof of residency, which will still allow snowbirds to receive shots but limit visitors with no ties to the state.
While the Governor has yet to allow vaccines for essential workers, some school districts are working with the Department of Health to provide shots to school staff age 65 and older.
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 includes the previous day’s totals and 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.
