Florida Reports Second Deadliest One-Day Increase In Deaths

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida health officials reported a total of 369,834 cases of the coronavirus Tuesday with 9,440 additional cases over the previous 24-hour period and 134 new deaths, the second deadliest one-day rise in deaths since the pandemic began.

"I think it's much better today than it was two weeks ago, and I think it will continue to improve," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Tuesday. State health officials reported 157 deaths on July 16, which remains the deadliest day in Florida since the pandemic began.

The governor said some hospitals have reported a plateau in the number of coronavirus patients and in some cases a decline.

"We're going to get through it. We're not there yet," the governor said. "I'd much rather have a hospital saying that they've had a week of stable census rather than saying this thing is spinning."

Despite thousands of new cases, Tuesday's daily increase represents a slight decline from recent days when the totals regularly exceeded 10,000 new cases per day. The total number of cases stood at 360,394 a day earlier.

The 150,000-member Florida Education Association (FEA), which represents state teachers, has filed a lawsuit against DeSantis and state education officials challenging the planned reopening of brick-and-mortar schools next month.

America's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, told CNN's Jake Tapper Tuesday that while most children don't tend to become seriously ill from the coronavirus, there are exceptions.

"We have to be realistic to realize that children who get infected for the most part don't get serious illness, but some children do get seriously ill, and some do pass it on to the adults," Fauci said.

The death toll in Florida from the coronavirus reached 5,206 on Tuesday, up from 5,072 a day earlier. State health officials reported another 113 non-Florida residents who died in the state from the coronavirus. A county-by-county breakdown of each of the deaths and when they were counted by state health officials can be found here.

Thirty-four of Florida's 67 counties reported new deaths Tuesday. Tuesday's total compares to 119 new deaths reported Monday (health officials reported 90 new deaths), 87 new deaths Sunday, 91 new deaths Saturday (health officials reported 90), 128 new deaths on Friday, 157 new deaths on Thursday, 113 new deaths Wednesday and 132 new deaths last Tuesday.

Miami-Dade County reported 16 new deaths. Palm Beach County reported 16 new deaths. Neighboring Broward County reported five new deaths.

Lee County reported 12 new deaths. Pinellas County reported 11 new deaths. Polk County reported 10 new deaths. Duval County, which includes Jacksonville, reported seven new deaths. Manatee County reported five new deaths as did Orange County and Osceola County.

Suwannee County reported four new deaths. Brevard County reported three new deaths as did Jackson County, Marion County and Martin County. Bay County reported two new deaths as did Collier County, Gadsden County, Indian River County, Pasco County, Santa Rosa County and St. Lucie County.

Desoto County reported one new death as did Escambia County, Glades County, Hendry County, Highlands County, Hillsborough County, Nassau County, Okaloosa County, Sarasota County, Seminole County, Sumter County and Volusia County.

Florida reported an 11.9 percent positive test rate for the virus Tuesday as the number of tests reached 3,103,674.

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

Health officials reported 21,780 hospitalizations from 21,263 hospitalizations over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 517 more hospitalizations than reported a day earlier, which is among the highest one-day increases in the state.

Miami-Dade, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, reported 89,557 cases of the virus Monday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 42,577 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach and West Palm, reported 26,951 cases.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 24,550 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 24,011 cases.

In an effort to provide as much information to our readers as possible, Patch is publishing the following 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.

Related:

• Florida Teachers Challenge School Reopening In Lawsuit
• Teacher's Final Lesson Is To Hold Family Close, Appreciate Life
• Coalition Launches Drive Childcare Center Coronavirus Supplies
• Florida Governor Confronted By Hecklers In Orlando
• Miami Beach Cancels Summer Camps After Child Tests Positive
• Hillsborough's Positive Rate For Coronavirus Reaches 15 Percent
• Miami-Dade Offers Hundreds Of Free Hotel Rooms For Coronavirus
• Florida Workers Hold Tele-Town Hall On Unemployment Crisis
• Miami-Dade Mayor Asks Residents To Avoid Friends, Family
• Florida City Suspends Recycling Program Over Coronavirus
• Some Labs Failed To Report Negative Coronavirus Results: DeSantis
• HCA Joins BayCare In Suspending Non-Urgent Surgeries
• Virus Fears Prompt New Restrictions At Republican Convention
• Florida Governor Behaved Like 'Spoiled Kid' Says Hialeah Mayor
• Governor Promises 'Guns Blazing' Response To Covonavirus Surge
• Brandon Coronavirus Testing Site Increases Appointments
• Medical Expert Calls Miami New World Epicenter; 12,624 More Cases
• Florida Bars Won't Reopen, But Schools Will; Cases Top 250,000
• More Residents Refusing To Participate In Contact Tracing
• Pinellas Releases Draft Back-To-School Plan, Mandates Masks

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

Here is the most recent data: