August now Florida’s deadliest month

New cases continued to plateau and hospitalizations dropped, but Florida increased its coronavirus death count by 1,338 on Thursday, making August the deadliest month since the pandemic began.

Florida has reported a total of 5,721 deaths in August. That number surpassed the previous high of 5,469 deaths in January, before vaccines were widely available.

The state on Thursday reported 21,392 new COVID-19 cases and another decline in hospitalizations, continuing a three-weeklong plateau in the coronavirus surge, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state is now averaging 19,849 new cases per day and is at its lowest 7-day trend since Aug. 7, potentially signaling Florida has rounded the peak of its largest COVID-19 surge to date.

There are also fewer patients hospitalized with COVID-19 in Florida, down to 14,416 as of Aug. 31. CDC data shows the 7-day tend in hospitalizations is at its lowest in two weeks and new hospital admissions since Aug. 3.

Despite an easing of the recent case surge, Florida ranked sixth in the nation for average daily COVID-19 cases per capita and second for average COVID-19 deaths per capita as of Sept. 1, according to New York Times data.

At least 45,909 Floridians have died of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

Here are the latest statistics:

Despite an easing of the recent case surge, Florida ranked sixth in the nation for average daily COVID-19 cases per capita and first for average COVID-19 deaths per capita as of Aug. 31, according to New York Times data.

On Friday, Florida reported a sharp decline in its positivity rate, though it remains one of the highest in the nation. The state releases positivity data weekly.