FL Reports 3,838 New Cases Of Virus As Many Voters Wear Masks

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida health officials reported 219 new deaths and 3,838 new cases of the coronavirus Tuesday as Floridians headed to the polls wearing masks in many cases amid varying social distancing and sanitization requirements for the state primary election.

"The elections department is doing all that we can to protect voters, following all social distancing guidelines from the CDC and Florida Department of Health," Robert Rodriguez, assistant deputy supervisor of elections in Miami-Dade County, told Patch. "We also ask voters to do their part, and wear their masks and use hand sanitizer at all precincts."

While each Florida county sets its own health and safety requirements, Miami-Dade poll workers were told to wear face shields, masks and gloves as they assisted voters in Florida's most populous county. Common touch points were wiped down throughout the day with disinfectant, while hand sanitizer was to be offered to all voters as they entered and exited voting locations. Stickers were also placed along the floor to make sure voters followed social distancing guidelines.

Tuesday marked the sixth straight day the state experienced a daily positivity rate below 10 percent, though Florida's overall positivity rate has remained at 13.53 percent based on 4,285,720 total tests, according to state health officials.

The total number of deaths in Florida rose to 9,758 Tuesday, up from 9,539 a day earlier. Florida's most recent one-day record of 276 reported deaths was set last Tuesday.

Health officials reported another 135 deaths involving non-Florida residents who died in Florida. The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Florida rose to 579,932 on Tuesday, up from 576,094 a day earlier.

Don’t miss updates about precautions in Florida as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters.

Thirty-six of Florida's 67 counties reported new deaths Tuesday. That compares with 87 new deaths Monday (health officials reported 89 deaths), 107 new deaths Sunday, 205 new deaths Saturday (state health officials reported 204), 228 new deaths Friday, 148 new deaths Thursday, 226 new deaths Wednesday (state health officials reported 212) and 276 new deaths reported last Tuesday.

Here's a breakdown of the counties reporting new deaths:

• Dade County reported 45 new deaths.
• Palm Beach County reported 14 new deaths.
• Broward County reported 12 new deaths.
• Polk County reported 27 new deaths.
• Okaloosa County reported 13 new deaths.
• Pinellas County reported 12 new deaths.
• Lee County reported nine new deaths.
• St. Lucie County reported nine new deaths.
• Duval County reported eight new deaths.
• Escambia County reported seven new deaths.
• Seminole County reported six new deaths.
• Collier County reported five new deaths.
• Sarasota reported five new deaths.
• Clay County reported four new deaths.
• Bay County reported three new deaths.
• Brevard County reported three new deaths.
• Citrus County reported three new deaths.
• Hillsborough County reported three new deaths.
• Lake County reported three new deaths.
• Marion County reported three new deaths.
• Santa Rosa County reported three new deaths.
• St. Johns County reported three new deaths.
• Charlotte County reported two new deaths.
• Lafayette County reported two new deaths.
• Manatee County reported two new deaths.
• Osceola County reported two new deaths.
• Volusia County reported two new deaths.
• Gadsden County reported one new death.
• Gilchrist County reported one new death.
• Gulf County reported one new death.
• Hernando County reported one new death.
• Highlands County reported one new death.
• Madison County reported one new death.
• Orange County reported one new death.
• Sumter County reported one new death.
• Suwannee County reported one new death.

The state reported 34,695 hospitalizations Tuesday, up from 34,194 hospitalizations a day earlier. That represents an increase of 501 new hospitalizations over the previous day, which is still among the highest daily increases since the pandemic began.

State health officials reported a total of 5,491 current hospitalizations with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19.

In an effort to provide as much information to our readers as possible, Patch has been publishing a daily county-by-county breakdown of the coronavirus cases in Florida's 67 counties, along with the median age of patients, the number of hospital cases by county and the number of deaths.

Miami-Dade, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, reported 146,990 cases of the virus as of Tuesday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 67,193 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach, West Palm and Boca Raton, reported 39,460 cases.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 34,605 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 33,709 cases.

Patch updates this chart once each day based on data provided by the Florida Department of Health. The counties that reported new deaths Tuesday are shown in bold.

Here is the most recent data available: