Florida's 3 Hardest Hit Counties From Coronavirus Eye Reopening

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — Florida's three hardest hit counties from the new coronavirus could partially reopen within weeks even as the number of confirmed cases in the state climbed to 39,199 with 1,669 deaths.

The figures represent 371 new confirmed cases. Nineteen of Florida's 67 counties reported a total of 75 more deaths over the previous 24-hour period.

Miami-Dade reported 14 new deaths. Broward County reported 18 more deaths. Palm Beach County reported seven new deaths.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he plans to allow Palm Beach County to partially reopen on Monday based on a request from county Mayor Dave Kerner, who said his county also voted to reopen beaches on May 18.

"I've looked at Palm Beach's request. I am going to authorize starting Monday, Palm Beach County to move into phase one consistent with what we've done," DeSantis said, referring to his earlier order allowing Florida restaurants and retailers in most other parts of the state to reopen under social distancing and occupancy restrictions.

Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said Florida's most populous county could also begin to reopen on May 18 while a Broward County survey of municipalities found local officials overwhelmingly support reopening.

Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties are considered the epicenter of Florida's new coronavirus outbreak with some 60 percent of the state's total cases.

Meanwhile, the Navy's Blue Angels saluted health care workers and first responders in the Jacksonville and South Florida areas on Friday with a special flyover that coincided with the 75th anniversary of V-E Day. See Blue Angels Salute Health Workers On 75th Anniversary Of V-E Day

Manatee County reported eight new deaths on Friday. Lee County also reported eight new deaths. Pinellas County reported three new deaths as did Sarasota County.

Escambia County reported two new deaths as did Seminole County. Hillsborough County reported one new death as did Brevard County, Charlotte County, Duval County, Highlands County, Osceola County, Polk County, Santa Rosa County, Suwannee County and Volusia County.

The state had a 7.6 positive rate for the virus out of 514,017 tests that had been administered as of Friday. The number of hospitalizations has increased in Florida to 6,929.

Miami-Dade reported 13,664 confirmed cases as of Friday, more than any other county. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 5,688 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes West Palm Beach, reported 3,615 cases.

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Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 1,371 cases as of Friday. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 1,478 cases.

In an attempt 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.

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

Here is the most recent data: