Florida Posts 157 New Coronavirus Deaths In Deadliest Day

TALLAHASSEE, FL — Florida's death toll from the coronavirus struck another one-day record Thursday with 157 more people losing their battle with the disease. The new deaths were offset slightly by one Florida County that reported one fewer death.

The total number of coronavirus cases in the state climbed to 315,775 on Thursday from 301,810, an increase of 13,965 new cases over the previous 24-hour period.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida health officials acknowledged Wednesday that an undisclosed number of private medical testing laboratories in recent days failed to report negative coronavirus test results, which may have skewed some of Florida's coronavirus data.

The number of people who died from the coronavirus in Florida rose to 4,677 from 4,521. The previous deadliest one-day increase in deaths came on Tuesday with 132 new deaths in Florida. State officials reported another 105 deaths in Florida involving non-Florida residents.

Twenty-four Florida counties reported the 157 new deaths Thursday, while Suwannee County reported one fewer death.

That compares with 113 new deaths Wednesday, 132 new deaths on Tuesday, 35 new deaths on Monday, 45 new deaths Sunday, 94 new deaths Saturday (health officials reported 95), 117 new deaths Friday (health officials reported 93) and 120 new deaths last Thursday.

Miami-Dade County reported 44 new deaths. Palm Beach County reported four new deaths. Neighboring Broward County has not reported any deaths since July 12.

Hillsborough County reported 40 new deaths. Pinellas County reported 17 new deaths. Orange County reported eight new deaths. Lake County reported six new deaths. Brevard County reported four new deaths, as did Manatee County, Pasco County and Polk County.

Hernando County reported three new deaths, as did Martin County and Seminole County. Okaloosa County reported two new deaths, as did St. Lucie County.

Collier County reported one new death, as did Desoto County, Escambia County, Flagler County, Jackson County, Marion County, Santa Rosa County, St. Johns County and Sumter County.

Florida's latest record for new coronavirus cases was reported on Sunday with a one-day increase of 15,300 cases.

Florida had an 11.2 percent positive test rate for the virus Thursday as the number of tests administered in the state reached 2,819,000.

Health officials also announced that separate, observed self-swab lanes will open Friday for people who have symptoms of the virus to reduce wait time at testing sites. DeSantis also said the state will stop doing business with private laboratories that have the longest wait times for results.

Self-swab lanes will be available at the following state-supported testing sites:

• War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale (Broward County)
• Regency Square Mall (Duval County)
• Orange County Convention Center (Orange County)
• Hard Rock Stadium (Miami-Dade County)

The percentage of positive cases has been increasing for weeks, and cases have been trending younger with many of the new people testing positive between the ages of 25 to 34. Hospital officials at Jackson Health report said they've also begun seeing more older patients as young people infect others.

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Health officials reported 19,825 hospitalizations from 19,334 over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 491 more hospitalizations over the previous day, which is among the highest one-day increases in hospitalizations since the pandemic began.

Miami-Dade, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, reported 75,425 cases of the virus Thursday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 35,566 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach and West Palm, reported 23,711 cases.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 21,557 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 21,299 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:

• 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 Thursday are shown in bold.

Here is the most recent data: