Florida added nearly 7,000 new COVID-19 cases to its state count Friday, as an additional 73 deaths were reported.
The 6,933 new cases brought the state's total to 870,552, according to the daily report from the state's department of health.
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The 73 new virus-related deaths among Florida residents brought the death toll to 17,445 Friday. Another 214 non-residents have also died from the disease in the state, one more than Thursday's count.
Deaths may have occurred days or weeks ago, due to the time it takes to confirm that they are coronavirus related.
“Now as predicted, we’re seeing a very significant rise throughout the country,” Dr. Aileen Marty from FIU said in response to recent figures. “I don’t think that this nation has taken this virus to the level of seriousness that we need to conquer the virus.”
The positivity rate for new cases in the state was 7.95% in Friday's report, a slight increase from Thursday's reported rate of 7.35%.
The positivity rate for all cases, including people who have already been tested, was 9.18% in Friday's report, a slight increase from Thursday's 8.55% rate.
In South Florida, Miami-Dade had 199,072 cases Friday, an increase of about 1,800 since Thursday, along with 3,706 COVID-related deaths, five more than in Thursday's report.
In Broward County, there were 93,514 COVID-19 cases reported, a daily increase of about 800, along with 1,581 virus-related deaths, 11 more than in Thursday's report.
Palm Beach County had 57,361 COVID-19 and 1,620 deaths Thursday, while Monroe County had 2,744 cases and 25 deaths.
