Florida Reports One-Day Spike Of 10,044 Coronavirus Cases

MIAMI, FL — Florida health officials reported 10,044 new cases of the coronavirus Wednesday, one of the highest one-day spikes since the pandemic began.

But the spike falls short of Florida's record for the most one-day cases, which was set on the Fourth of July with 11,458 new cases of the virus.

The spike comes as Federal prosecutors in Miami accused a Bradenton man and his three sons of making and selling thousands of bottles of a toxic bleach as a cure for the coronavirus and other illnesses.

Miami-area restaurants will be forced to limit service to outdoor dining starting Thursday as one measure to control the spread of the deadly virus in Florida's hardest hit county. Other businesses in Miami-Dade, such as banquet halls, must shut down completely.

Mayor Dale Holness of nearby Broward County announced Wednesday his county will not close restaurants but will limit tables to six people and close indoor dining rooms at 10 p.m. He also said he will allow vacation rentals to continue but guests will not be permitted to visit rentals.

Florida had a 9.6 percent positive test rate for the virus Wednesday as the number of tests administered in the state reached 2,322,389. The percentage of positive cases has been increasing for more than three weeks and the cases are trending younger.

The state's total positive cases rose to 223,783 from 213,794 over the previous 24-hour period. Many of the new positive cases in the state are of people between the ages of 33 to 37.

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The total number of deaths from the new coronavirus in Florida rose to 3,889 from 3,841. State officials also reported another 102 deaths in Florida involving non-Florida residents.

Fifteen Florida counties reported 49 new deaths Wednesday while Lee County reported one fewer death.

That compares with 63 new deaths Tuesday, 61 new deaths Monday, 28 new deaths Sunday, 18 new deaths Saturday, 64 new deaths Friday, 65 new deaths Thursday and 46 new deaths last Wednesday.

Miami-Dade County reported 11 new deaths. Broward County reported one new death. Palm Beach County reported six new deaths.

Polk County reported seven new deaths. St. Lucie County reported five deaths. Escambia County reported three new deaths as did Martin County, Pinellas County and Volusia County. Orange County reported two new deaths.

Monroe County reported one new death as did Osceola County, Santa Rosa County, St. Johns County and Sumter County.

Health officials reported 16,758 hospitalizations, up from 16,425 hospitalizations over the previous 24-hour period. That represents an increase of 333 new hospitalizations as some South Florida hospital reported declining availability of ICU beds.

Miami-Dade reported 53,974 cases of the virus Wednesday. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 23,781 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach and West Palm, reported 18,231 cases.

Those three counties account for cases, or some percent of the state's total.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 16,099cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 15,194cases.

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:

• Toxic Bleach Sold As 'Miracle' Coronavirus Cure: Feds
• Most Florida Children Expected To Attend Traditional Schools
• Masks Are Now Required In Lakeland Public Places: Commission
• Patch Survey: Too Soon To Send Kids Back To School
• Coronavirus Confrontation On South Beach Elevator

• Miami-Dade Mayor Reimposes Curfew Amid Coronavirus
• Jackson Health CEO Issues Dire Warning Over Coronavirus Spike

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: