Florida reported more than 8,700 new COVID-19 cases for Thursday, the highest daily increase in nearly three months, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The 8,785 cases reported by the state to the CDC Thursday are the most since September 21, and is a four-fold increase from Sunday's reported total of 1,950.
Florida's reported cases have been steadily increasing all week, with 3,036 cases on Monday, 4,137 cases on Tuesday, and 6,846 on Wednesday, totals not seen since October.
Source: CoVariants
Amy O’Kruk/NBC
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According to the Florida Department of Health's weekly COVID-19 report, Miami-Dade and Broward counties have had the biggest increases of cases this week. Miami-Dade reported 11,689 cases for the week of Dec. 10-16, and 4,770 cases were reported in Broward. More than 100 cases were reported in Monroe and 2,445 in Palm Beach.
Despite the increase, case figures are still well below what they were during this summer's Covid surge, when daily cases were frequently over 20,000.
With the rise in cases and questions to be answered about the omicron variant, Miami-Dade County reinstated an emergency order requiring hospitals to report the numbers of COVID-19 cases treated each day and the availability of hospital beds. Jackson Health System recently announced that it will limit its visitation policies.
On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the availability of new monoclonal antibody treatment for Floridians with serious health problems or allergies who can’t get adequate protection from vaccination.
Since the pandemic began last year, Florida has had more than 3,730,000 reported cases.
Florida's Covid death toll was at 62,192 as of Thursday, according to the CDC. The state reported 39 Florida residents died this week.
The state reported more than 14,600,000 residents have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
For a full list of South Florida testing and vaccine sites, click here.
