Florida coronavirus: Infections pass 800,000 with biggest jump in new cases in 2 months

Florida has now surpassed 800,000 cases of COVID-19. The state added 5,592 cases Friday to bring the total to 800,216 infected. That’s the most new cases since a Sept. 1 report which featured cases as old as April in the figures. Without those figures, the state hasn’t seen this many cases since Aug. 15.

With 72 new virus fatalities reported, 16,720 Florida residents are now dead.

Deaths per day from the coronavirus in the U.S. are on the rise again, just as health experts had feared, and cases are climbing in nearly every state, despite assurances from President Trump over the weekend that “we’re rounding the turn, we’re doing great.”

The pandemic has caused far more fatalities than the official count indicates. The true number deaths could be up to 25% higher when including people listed as having died of other causes brought on by the pandemic, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each report includes deaths from several previous days, as it can take two weeks or more for fatalities to be logged.

Testing has been declining statewide since the summer when there were about 54,400 daily average tests in July and about 32,000 in August. September’s daily average fell to 22,800, and in October it has been about 28,200.

The most recent figures are below. Statewide, the latest positivity rate reported by the Florida Department of Health was 5.89%, but that’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive. For all cases including retests of those previously infected, the latest positivity rate is 7.22%.

Florida has obscured the true extent of its pandemic by using a misleading measure of positive cases to justify reopening schools and businesses, state data indicates. While the state has publicized that its positivity rate has regularly fallen below 5%, other health organizations are publishing data that shows the rate may be dramatically higher.

Central Florida on Friday added 1,120 cases for a total of 130,224: 483 new cases in Orange for 46,424; 128 in Polk for 23,088; 49 in Osceola for 14,252; 121 in Volusia for 12,876; 135 in Brevard for 11,637; 118 in Seminole for 10,357; 49 in Lake for 8,662; and 37 in Sumter for 2,928. (See details on all Central Florida cases here).

Central Florida had 12 of Friday’s newly reported deaths, bringing the region’s toll to 2,631. Polk County, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in the region with 620, followed by 559 in Orange, 375 in Brevard, 318 in Volusia, 241 in Seminole, 228 in Lake, 204 in Osceola, and 86 in Sumter.

Central Florida accounts for over 16% of the cases statewide and nearly 16% of the deaths.

COVID-19 hospitalizations are down from mid-July highs of over 8,000, but they’re not declining. They are remaining flat or are slightly increasing in Central Florida and elsewhere around the state.

Across the state, 2,351 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of about 11:15 a.m. Friday. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day.

Orange County reported 133 patients hospitalized, Osceola with 82, Seminole with 42, and Lake with 3 as of about 11:15 a.m. Friday.

To date, 49,185 people have been hospitalized in Florida, according to the state’s report.

As of 11:30 a.m. Friday, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard hasn’t been updated to reflect the newest figures.

“This isn’t over. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic, and the risk of letting your guard down becomes a problem for the vulnerable populations,” said Dr. George Ralls, senior vice president, and chief medical officer at Orlando Health.

South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for 41% of cases with 323,827. That includes 1,930 new cases reported Friday among Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

South Florida’s reported deaths rose by 15 on Friday for a total of 6,751, 41% of the state’s total.

The latest breakdown of Florida’s coronavirus cases can be found here. The most recently available county-by-county data can be found here.

List of mobile coronavirus and antibody testing sites in Central Florida by county

The virus has infected over 44 million people and has killed over 1.1 million worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. Nationwide, over 8.8 million people have been infected and over 227,000 are dead.

The true number of infections is thought to be far higher because many Americans have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

Experts are warning of a grim fall and winter, as “pandemic fatigue” — or weariness with wearing masks and staying away from others — takes hold and cold weather forces people indoors, where the virus can spread more easily.

Since April, America has led the world by far in sheer numbers of confirmed infections and deaths. The U.S. has less than 5% of the globe’s population but more than 20% of the reported deaths.

Black and Hispanic people and American Indians have accounted for a disproportionate share of the deaths, underscoring the economic and health care disparities in the U.S.

Millions of Americans are counting on a COVID-19 vaccine to curb the pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials expected to carry out the work.

Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an overreaction or an infringement on their liberty. Public health experts say the problem has been compounded by confusing and inconsistent guidance from politicians and a patchwork quilt of approaches to containing the scourge by county, state, and federal governments.

Brazil has the second-most fatalities with over 158,000, India with over 121,000, Mexico with over 90,000, the United Kingdom with over 46,000, and Italy with over 38,000.

Within the U.S., New York has the most deaths with over 33,000, followed by Texas with over 18,000.

The actual number of cases around the world is believed to be much higher than reported — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the CDC — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.

Some of the worst-hit nations have been those whose leaders have downplayed the severity of COVID-19, undercut the advice of health experts and pushed unproven remedies.

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Local coronavirus victims: Their lives remembered

Juan Carlos Sosa has been described as “Juan in a million,” but for his family he is “Juan the one and only.” Whenever someone needed help, there he was, willing to assist, no matter the day or time. Now, he will no longer greet students with a big smile when they arrive at Celebration K-8 school and will never be able sing in the car with his daughter. Juan Carlos died on Aug. 30 at age 57. His family believes he was infected with coronavirus after he celebrated his birthday at the school where he was a custodian.

Deborah Denise Henson spent much of her adult life in pain — the result of a freakish accident that left her with plates and screws in her back. But you wouldn’t have known it from her smile. She survived a host of medical problems before succumbing to COVID-19.

Pong Hui Chartier, known as “Connie” to customers at the dry cleaning business she operated in Ocoee, liked to do things her way. “She’s never been someone that rested. She was always go, go, go. If anyone was going to live to be 100, it would be my mother,” her daughter said. At 79, Pong Hui took only one medication — for her thyroid. But in early March, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Weeks later, she died as a victim of coronavirus.

See more Central Florida coronavirus obituaries here.

Symptoms? Do this

Are you feeling stressed or depressed from the COVID19 outbreak? There are resources available for you. You can contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit https://www.samhsa.gov/disaster-preparedness

How to protect yourself

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with people in poor health.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Follow these guidelines for using a cloth mask.

Questions? Here are numbers to call

The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.

The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents may also email questions to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For mental-health help, here is a list of resources.

For accurate, up-to-date information, visit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov

The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

You want to be extra-prepared? Here’s how to stock up before a pandemic: ready.gov/pandemic

For the latest coronavirus updates, visit OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus and follow @orlandosentinel on Twitter.

See complete coverage at OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus.

This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Naseem Miller of the Sentinel staff, the Sun-Sentinel and The Associated Press, contributed to this report.

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