Thousands took advantage of sites offering free at-home testing kits in Miami-Dade and Broward. NBC 6’s Phil Prazan reports
Florida recorded over 56,800 new COVID-19 cases Saturday which was a significant decrease from the more than 75,000 reported Friday.
The 56,865 new cases reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought the state's total to 4,222,827 since the pandemic began in March of 2020.
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Thanks mostly to the fast-spreading omicron variant and an increase in testing, Florida has set records all week for daily cases, with 75,962 reported Friday, 58,013 reported Thursday, 52,995 reported Wednesday, 33,567 on Tuesday and 29,129 on Monday.
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Covid hospitalizations in the state increased by 484 on Friday, reaching 4,485, according to the Florida Hospital Association. That total is nowhere near the peak of more than 17,100 hospitalizations during the summer delta wave.
Hospitalizations in the state have increased over 144% in the past week, though more than 25% of adult ICU beds remain available.
The state's Covid-related death toll was 62,480 as of Friday. There were no new deaths reported Saturday.
In Miami-Dade County, the positivity rate reached 28% on Saturday, but 135 patients with COVID-19 were reported in ICUs Friday.
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