863 deaths, 10,211 cases in last weekly report before health department moves to biweekly
Starting next week, the Florida Department of Health will move from weekly to bi-weekly COVID-19 reports, spokesperson Jeremy Redfern said on Friday.
Daily updates will still be available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tweeted Redfern.
The DOH currently shares public reports every Friday tracking Florida’s deaths, cases, vaccine rates, county positivity rates and more. The DOH used to post daily reports, but stopped in June 2021, with spokespeople then attributing the shift to low case numbers and positivity rates.
Florida’s shift to biweekly reporting comes as cases and deaths continue to fall and COVID-19 spread is “low” throughout much of Central Florida.
There were 10,211 new coronavirus cases this week among Florida residents to bring the cumulative total to 5,824,728. With 863 more fatalities on record, 71,860 Florida residents have died.
This week’s death total reflects a decrease from the 1,207 reported last week, but deaths can take several days or weeks to be reported. The majority of the newly reported deaths are people who died before this week.
The number of weekly cases decreased compared to the previous week’s 14,148. Positivity decreased to 2.4%. That’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive.
Of note, the state reports deal only with Florida resident cases and exclude non-residents cases, which are no longer available.
Across the state, 1,675 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 from
March 2-8, according to the latest White House report. In comparison, 2,462 were hospitalized the previous week. The week before that, it was 3,661.
Statewide, 15,430,167 residents, or 74% of people age 5 and up, have received at least one vaccination shot, including 8,222,070 who have completed their shot regimens but not received an additional dose through March 10. Meanwhile, 12,841 received an additional dose last week, bringing the total to 5,078,229.
Central Florida added 2,149 resident infections this week, based on the actual date the state opened the case, for a total of 1,142,823: 854 more in Orange for 373,631; 247 more in Osceola for 112,755; 250 more in Polk for 199,081; 151 more in Lake for 84,293; 84 more in Sumter for 21,550; 188 more in Volusia for 115,986; 219 more in Brevard for 132,616; and 156 more in Seminole for 102,911.