Florida Coronavirus Deaths Continue To Rise As Cases Surge

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida health officials reported 139 more deaths and 9,785 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday over the previous 24-hour period.

The increase in deaths replaces Tuesday's total as the second-deadliest one-day reporting period since the pandemic began.

Florida's new total of 379,619 coronavirus cases continues a weekslong case surge in the state that has forced hospitals to cancel elective surgeries and turn to contract medical personnel as the influx of new patients has put pressure on ICUs. Tuesday's case total was 369,834.

The death toll in Florida from the coronavirus climbed to 5,345 on Wednesday, up from 5,206 a day earlier. State health officials reported another 114 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-two of Florida's 67 counties reported 140 new deaths Wednesday, while Sumter County reported one fewer death.

That compares with 134 new deaths reported Tuesday, 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 and 113 new deaths last Wednesday.

Franklin County reported its first death during the pandemic. That leaves only three Florida counties that have not reported any deaths.

Miami-Dade County reported 17 new deaths. Palm Beach County reported eight new deaths. Neighboring Broward County reported 12 new deaths.

Hillsborough County reported 16 new deaths. Orange County and Polk County each reported 14 new deaths. Pinellas County reported eight new deaths.

Brevard County reported five new deaths, as did Collier County and Seminole County. St. Lucie County reported four new deaths. Duval County reported three new deaths, as did Putnam County and Volusia County.

Bay County reported two new deaths, as did Hernando County, Leon County, Marion County and Nassau County.

Alachua County reported one new deaths, as did Citrus County, Clay County, Columbia County, Escambia County, Hendry County, Indian River County, Lee County, Pasco County, Santa Rosa County, Sarasota County and St. Johns County.

Florida reported a 12 percent positive test rate for the virus Wednesday as the number of tests reached 3,158,741.

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Health officials reported 22,243 hospitalizations, up from 21,780 over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 463 more hospitalizations than reported a day earlier.

Miami-Dade, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, reported 92,345 cases of the virus Wednesday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 43,747 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach and West Palm, reported 27,506 cases.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 24,891 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 24,700 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:

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• 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

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: