COVID-19 death toll in FL reaches 4,000 mark; 18.39% of new cases test positive, the highest in 2 weeks

Deaths of Florida residents from COVID-19 have reached the 4,000 mark, with 4,009 deaths reported Thursday by the Florida Department of Health.

The day before, the death toll was at 3,889, meaning 120 more deaths were reported from Wednesday to Thursday.

According to the state health department, the 120 new deaths came from 24 of Florida’s 67 counties — Brevard, Broward, Calhoun, Miami-Dade, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Manatee, Martin, Okaloosa, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia counties.

Of the 4,009 deaths, 2,029 are from staffers or residents at long-term care facilities, more than half of Florida’s death toll from COVID-19.

The New York Times, which tracks both coronavirus deaths and infections, reports that Florida is 9th of the 50 states in the number of deaths from COVID-19, and 4th in the number of COVID-19 infections.

However, based on an analysis of COVID-19 deaths per 100,000 people, Florida’s rate is far below many states, including New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Louisiana, Michigan, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania. The per 100,000-analysis of coronavirus infections is similar.

In Florida, the state health department reported 232,718 Florida infections on Thursday, up from 8,935 new positive COVID-19 infections the day before.

“The percent of positive results ranged from 12.22% to 18.39% over the past 2 weeks and was 18.39% yesterday,” the state health department stated in Thursday’s report. The analysis come from lab testing for both Florida residents and non-residents over the past 2 weeks.

The data on infections also show that Miami-Dade has 55,961 infections; Broward, 25,102, Palm Beach, 18,656; Hillsborough, 16,666, and Orange, 15,595.