Florida hits record one-day death toll

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Florida’s COVID-19 emergency had equal measures of hope and despair Tuesday, with a record number of new deaths but a drop-off in new cases.

The state Department of Health reported that 4,514 people have died since the pandemic began, an increase of 132 since Monday’s report. It’s the latest in a two-week trend of a rising death rate.

Tuesday’s report of 9,194 new cases of the highly infectious disease was the lowest number since Thursday. But the previous two days brought a U.S. record with 15,300 cases on Sunday, followed by 12,624 cases on Monday.

The state’s test positivity rate Tuesday was 15%, up from Monday’s 11.51% but still off last Wednesday’s peak of 18.4%. In May, Florida’s positivity rate hovered around 5%.