Florida's Daily Coronavirus Death Record Shattered Again

TALLAHASSEE, FL — One day after Florida health officials reported a new single-day record for the most deaths reported in any 24-hour period, the record has already been shattered with a staggering 216 new deaths reported Wednesday, the most by far since the pandemic began.

While the reported deaths in some cases have been spread over an extended period, new deaths are reported daily. Wednesday marks the deadliest day in terms of the number of new deaths reported by health officials in a single day following a string of record-setting days.

Speaking at an education roundtable in Pinellas County, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he is confident all school districts in the state will have a mix of online learning and in-classroom instruction by the end of the upcoming school semester even if some districts push back the start of classes.

"Many students will suffer academic and physical and mental health challenges if they are not able to get back into the classroom," the governor said. "Having an in-classroom option is vital to the needs of millions of people."

Florida's two largest school districts — Miami-Dade and Broward — both said they will begin the school year solely with online instruction. Those school districts are considered to be in the epicenter of Florida's coronavirus outbreak.

Health officials reported a total of 451,423 cases of the virus Wednesday up from 441,977 cases a day earlier. That represents an increase of 9,446 new cases over the precious one-day period.

The death toll in Florida from the coronavirus reached 6,333 from 6,117 deaths a day earlier. State health officials reported another 124 non-Florida residents who died in the state from the coronavirus.

Tuesday's record of 186 new coronavirus deaths topped the one-day record for the most deaths at the time. A record of 173 reported deaths was reported last Thursday.

Health officials reported 25,499 hospitalizations in the state up from 24,917 hospitalizations over the previous 24 hours. That represents an increase of 582 more hospitalizations than reported a day earlier, which is among the highest one-day increases since the pandemic began.

Thirty-one of Florida's 67 counties reported new deaths Wednesday. That compares with 185 new deaths reported Tuesday (Florida health officials reported 186), 78 new deaths Monday (state health officials reported 77), 77 new deaths Sunday, 124 new deaths Saturday, 135 new deaths Friday, 173 new deaths Thursday, and 140 new deaths reported last Wednesday (health officials reported 139).

Lafayette County reported its first death from the virus Wednesday leaving Gulf County as the sole remaining Florida county that has yet to report any coronavirus deaths.

Miami-Dade County reported 30 new deaths. Palm Beach County reported 16 new deaths. Neighboring Broward County reported 31 new deaths. Those three counties are considered the epicenter of Florida's outbreak.

Orange County reported 24 new deaths. Manatee County reported 15 new deaths as did Polk County. Hillsborough County reported 13 new deaths. Brevard County reported 10 new deaths. Lee County reported seven new deaths. Osceola County reported six new deaths.

Martin County reported five new deaths as did Pinellas County and St. Lucie County. Marion County reported four new deaths as did Volusia County. Duval County reported three new deaths as did Escambia County and Hernando County. Okaloosa County reported two new deaths.

Bay County reported one new death as did Charlotte County, Gadsden County, Gilchrist County, Hardee County, Highlands County, Lake County, Okeechobee County, Sarasota County, Seminole County and St. Johns County.

Florida reported a 12.8 percent positive test rate for the virus Wednesday as the number of tests reached 3,531,721.

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Miami-Dade, which includes Miami and Miami Beach, reported 113,143 cases of the virus. Nearby Broward County, which includes Fort Lauderdale, reported 52,970 cases. Palm Beach County, which includes Palm Beach, West Palm and Boca Raton, reported 32,171 cases.

Hillsborough County, which includes Tampa, reported 28,268 cases. Orange County, which includes Orlando, reported 28,191 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.

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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: