Florida reports 183 more virus deaths

State has third straight day under 3,000 new cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 183 more coronavirus deaths and 2,673 more cases on Tuesday.

The death toll for Florida residents now stands at 10,580 along with 137 more non-Florida residents for a combined toll of 10,717.

The new positive cases of COVID-19 brings the state’s total to 605,502. It passed 600,000 cases on Sunday. Tuesday, though, marks three days in a row with less than 3,000 new cases. Monday’s

total was the lowest since June 15. The state saw its peak in reported cases on July 12 with 15,300 new infections posted in a single day.

Deaths, though, climbed back closer to 200 with Tuesday’s report after Monday’s reported 72 fatalities, although Monday numbers in general have trended lower over the months with larger numbers reported on Tuesday. It’s the highest day of reported deaths in a week.

The state had endured three weeks in a row with more than 1,000 deaths before last week’s 873 fatalities reported from Sunday-Sunday. Of note, there is a lag time between the date of death and date it is announced. Tuesday’s newly reported deaths occurred over several days past, sometimes as much as a month earlier.

Tuesday’s coronavirus report showed a positivity rate that climbed back overr 10% after five days in a row below.

The state said that for its latest batch of positive results, which come from tests given over several previous days, 11.34% of those tested were infected with COVID-19.

The state also reported a positivity rate of 7.49% for the latest report of new cases, which excludes anyone who previously tested positive. The higher figures includes previously positive persons as long as it is a different day in which the test was received.

Nearly 4.5 million people have been tested in Florida, with 17,414 more tests reported Tuesday compared with the previous day.

Central Florida on Tuesday added 370 cases for a total of 93,728: 129 new cases in Orange for 34,910; 66 in Polk for 16,388; 32 in Osceola for 10,804; 45 in Volusia for 8,997; 33 in Seminole for 7,811; 26 in Brevard for 6,972; 33 in Lake for 6,122; and six in Sumter for 1,724.

Central Florida had 24 of Tuesday’s newly reported deaths, bringing the region’s toll to 1,593 including 12 in

Polk County, five in Volusia, three in Orange, three in Lake and one in Seminole. Polk, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in Central Florida with 419, followed by 364 in Orange, 195 in Brevard, 182 in Volusia, 164 in Seminole, 127 in Osceola, 96 in Lake, and 46 in Sumter.

Central Florida accounts for about 15% of the cases statewide and also about 15% of the deaths. The region’s share of the state’s deaths has ticked up compared with June and the start of July, when it had steadily remained at under 9% of Florida’s total.

Statewide, hospitalizations for the disease have been on a downward trend over the past month.

Across the state, 4,603 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of about 10 a.m. Tuesday, down from more than 8,000 in midJuly when the state began sharing the data. Of those, Orange County reported 238 patients hospitalized, Osceola with 95, Seminole with 74, and Lake with 78. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day.

To date, 37,038 people have been hospitalized in Florida, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard shows.

But those numbers could include cases that are weeks old.