Florida Sees Staggering One-Day Spike In Coronavirus Cases

HIALEAH GARDENS, FL — Florida experienced a staggering one-day spike of 5,511 new confirmed coronavirus cases Wednesday after breaking four records last week.

"What we're seeing in Florida is really rapid transmission in that 18 to 34 age group," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at the Mater Academy Charter Middle/High School near Miami. "I think it's transmitting quicker right now than it did in March and April."

The governor said about 20 percent of the new positive test cases involve people who are otherwise asymptomatic. He said the younger patients tend to experience less severe symptoms.

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The total number of positive tests rose to 109,014 from 103,503 over the previous 24-hour period. The previous Florida record of 4,049 new coronavirus cases was set on Saturday following a string of 1,000-plus case days.

"The transmission is being driven in metro areas," the governor said. "You see that very clearly. You see that in Dade. You see that in Orange County. You see that in some of these other places."

Ten Florida counties reported 45 new deaths Wednesday. That compares with 65 new deaths Tuesday, 12 deaths Monday, 17 deaths Sunday, 40 deaths on Saturday, 43 new deaths Friday, 43 new deaths Thursday and 25 new deaths last Wednesday.

The total number of deaths from the coronavirus rose to 3,281 from 3,238 a day earlier. Lee County reported one fewer death as did Suwannee County.

Miami-Dade reported 24 new deaths. Broward County reported one new death. Palm Beach County reported six new deaths.

Pinellas County reported three new deaths. Collier County reported two new deaths as did Hillsborough County, Orange County and Polk County.

Charlotte County reported one new death as did Osceola County and St. Lucie County.

Health officials reported 13,574 total hospitalizations up from 13,325 over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 249 new hospitalizations.

Miami-Dade reported 27,779 cases of the virus as of Wednesday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 12,217 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes West Palm Beach, reported 11,536 cases.

Those three South Florida counties are still considered the epicenter of Florida's outbreak but other parts of the state now account for a greater share of cases.

Florida had a 6.5 percent positive test rate for the virus Wednesday based on 1,669,440 tests. The percentage of positive cases has also experienced an increase over the past week.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 6,892 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 6,056 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 Wednesday are shown in bold.

Here is the most recent data: