Case total in state hits 350,000

Florida reported 12,478 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, marking the fourthhighest daily increase in reported cases, according to the health department.

July 12 saw the highest report, with a record 15,300 cases, shattering state and U.S. records for single-day cases.

In total, 350,047 people have been infected statewide since the pandemic began.

From Sunday to Sunday, the state posted a total of 80,236 cases, 740 deaths and 429,477 people tested — all of which break records for numbers of cases, deaths and tests reported in a single week.

In comparison, the week ending July 12 saw 69,700 cases, 511 deaths and more than 374,000 people tested.

Sunday’s update also marked a record for hospitalizations reported in a single week with 2,700 reported by the state. To date, 20,971 Florida residents have been hospitalized, 339 more than a day earlier, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard.

There were 89 new deaths reported Sunday, including two non-residents. To date, 4,982 Florida residents and 109 non-residents have died from COVID-19, bringing the overall death toll to 5,091.

Florida’s worst day for announced deaths came Thursday, with 156 resident fatalities reported, followed by Tuesday with 132 and Friday with 128. To be clear, these are the days the

deaths were reported by the state, not the day the deaths occurred.

July 8 marks the worst day for actual deaths so far with 96 fatalities reported, according to the state’s COVID-19 dashboard. July 7 follows with 91 deaths, and July 9 with 84.

Over 3 million people have been tested in Florida, with 70,769 more reported Sunday compared with the previous day.

Statewide, the latest positivity rate of new cases made available by the Florida Department of Health, for Saturday, was 11.85%.

On Sundays, the weekly positive test rate is updated for the prior week. For the week of July 12, it was 12.87%, slightly down from the previous week of 13.77%. It was the second week in a row the percentage decreased.

Central Florida added 2,267 cases for a total of 2,267 on Sunday. 741 new cases were reported in Orange for a total of 23,259; 494 in Polk for 9,524; 285 in Osceola for 6,010; 179 in Seminole for 5,329; 229 in Volusia for 5,188; 162 in Brevard for 4,222; 137 in Lake for 3,343; and 40 in Sumter for 827.

Nine of the COVID-19 deaths reported Sunday came from Central Florida, bringing the regional toll to 563.

Orange reported three deaths on Sunday: an 82-year-old man and women ages 88 and 103. Volusia reported two deaths of women ages 71 and 95, and Seminole reported two women ages 92 and 100. Sumter reported the death of an 87-year-old woman, and Brevard reported a 91-year-old man.

Polk County, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in the region with 174, followed by 120 in Orange, 82 in Volusia, 50 in Brevard, 43 in Seminole, 38 in Osceola, 35 in Lake, and 21 in Sumter.

South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for about 43% of cases with 149,304 total. That includes 5,102 new cases reported Sunday among Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

South Florida’s reported deaths on Sunday rose by 46 for a total of 2,474, about half the state’s total.

Across Florida, 9,363 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of 2:45 p.m. Sunday, an increase of 39 from the previous updates at 12:30 p.m with 9,324 hospitalizations. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day with the newly released hospitalization numbers.

Orange County reported 612 patients hospitalized, Osceola with 199, Seminole with 171, and Lake with 123 as of about 12:30 p.m.

The data for current COVID-19 patients do not differentiate between general hospital beds and intensive care units.

The virus has infected over 14 million people and has killed over 602,000 worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. In the U.S., over 3.7 million people have been infected and over 140,000 killed.