State’s death toll, cases on the rise

Florida’s resident death toll from coronavirus rose to 33,178 with the addition of 36 more reported fatalities on Sunday while also adding 4,943 more positive COVID-19 cases to bring the total to 2,044,005.

From Sunday to Sunday, Florida saw 35,656 new cases and 436 newly reported deaths, according to state health department data.

In comparison, the week ending March 21 saw 31,541 new cases and 487 newly reported resident deaths.

With 641 non-resident fatalities, the state’s combined total is 33,819. Each report includes deaths from several previous days, as it can take weeks and sometimes several months for reports to appear.

This past month, Florida surpassed 2 million cumulative infections. As cases rose slightly among the younger groups, deaths have continued to decrease. So far, resident deaths in March are averaging 83 per day, compared to 155 in January and 156 in February.

The statewide weekly positivity rate for March 21 to 27 rose to 6.62% from the previous week’s 6.04%.

From Sunday to Sunday, the state reported 1,198 new resident hospitalizations, compared to the previous week’s 1,190.

COVID-19 hospitalizations appear to have flattened statewide as well as in metro Orlando. Current hospitalizations have been declining from a high of more than 7,600 in January.

Last Sunday, 2,850 people were hospitalized, across the state. This Sunday, 2,832 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as 2:15 p.m. Sunday including 149 in Orange County, 66 in Osceola, 32 in Lake and 51 in Seminole.

Statewide, 5,604,283 people have received at least one vaccination shot including 3,075,333 who have completed their shot regimen, whether it’s the two-dose Pfizer or Moderna option or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The count is a snapshot through Friday, based on the report released Saturday.

Of those who have received at least the first dose, 3,300,133 are over the age of 65.

Statewide, the latest positivity rate reported Sunday for Saturday’s test results by the Florida Department of Health was 6.80%, but that’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive. For all tested, the positivity rate is 8.71%.

Central Florida added 1,041 cases on Sunday for a total of 362,607: That includes 390 more in Orange for 122,800; 163 more in Polk for 60,765; 85 in Osceola for 39,356; 140 in Volusia for 37,763; 92 in Brevard for 36,951; 98 in Seminole for 29,751; 52 in Lake for 26,470; and 21 in Sumter for 8,751.

There were 2 new deaths across all eight Central Florida counties bringing the region’s toll to 5,715. Polk County has the most coronavirus fatalities in the region with 1,237, followed by 1,175 in Orange, 804 in Brevard, 711 in Volusia, 463 in Seminole, 600 in Lake, 481 in Osceola and 244 in Sumter.

The Miami-Fort Lauderdale metro area leads the state for coronavirus infections 100,000 per capita, according to the White House report for March 19 to 25.

Central Florida accounts for over 17.7% of the cases statewide and over 17.2% of the deaths.