Florida’s COVID-19 death toll tops 8,300

Florida reported 77 COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, along with about 6,200 new coronavirus infections and 254 new hospitalizations.

A total of 8,315 people have died from disease complications and 532,806 people have been diagnosed with infections, while 30,505 state residents have been hospitalized.

Sunday marked a decline in both deaths and infections after three consecutive days of increases in both COVID-19 cases and fatalities, though both reported numbers tend to dip on weekends. The current totals are not close to the record highs set last month. The peak was 257 deaths on July 31.

The daily totals are not reflective of deaths in the past 24 hours, but rather recent weeks. And the test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days. Often, test results take weeks to be processed.

The state Department of Health reported 6,229 COVID-19 cases on Sunday, after three days above 7,000 cases. The state reports processing some 85,000 tests Saturday. Those results are reflected in the Sunday report.

The percentage of positive tests dipped lower Sunday to about 8.5% among people who tested positive for the first time across the state, for the previous day.

Public health experts say the positivity rate is an important figure, since it indicates the prevalence of the disease in the population. The World Health Organization had advised governments that before reopening, the rate should remain at 5% or lower for at least 14 days.