Florida Surpasses 21,000 Coronavirus Cases, as State Death Toll Reaches 499

Florida's confirmed coronavirus cases surpassed 21,000 as the number of COVID-19-related deaths inched closer to 500 Monday, while the state's governor and surgeon general said we may be at or near a plateau in new cases.

The Florida Department of Health reported 21,019 cases in Florida and 499 deaths from the new coronavirus.

There were more than 2,800 coronavirus-related hospitalizations to date in Florida, the health department said.

At a news conference Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said hospitalizations in the state had been "kind of flat" over the past week, and said as of mid-day Monday, there was a net reduction of 27 hospitalizations.

"That's a good sign but we look at it one hour at a time, one day at a time," DeSantis said.

State Surgeon General Dr. Scott Rivkees also discussed a case plateau but cautioned that coronavirus was far from over in Florida.

"We are at a plateau situation but cannot emphasize enough that we cannot let our guard down at this present time. Until we get a vaccine, which is a while off, this is going to be our new normal and we need to adapt and protect ourselves," Rivkees said.

Miami-Dade continued to be Florida's epicenter for the virus, with 7,459 cases, about 36 percent of the state's total. Broward had 3,177 cases and Palm Beach had 1,704.

Infections continued to be heavily concentrated in the city of Miami, where 4,487 cases were reported. The next closest city was Hollywood, with 947 cases, followed by Hialeah with 918.

Miami-Dade also led the state in deaths, with 109, the department of health said. Palm Beach had 92 reported deaths and Broward had 77. Monroe still had 3 deaths reported.

DeSantis said new COVID-19 cases in the state appeared to be at the highest in the first few days of the month.

"I think the second of April was the highest and then it's kind of been in a little bit of a plateau since then, so we're gonna watch that every day," DeSantis said.

The Florida National Guard said Sunday that there are now 2,256 guardsmen supporting Florida’s COVID-19 response, operating seven community based testing sites.

DeSantis said Monday that he was directing the National Guard to send more teams out to do testing at long-term care facilities.

In South Florida, the testing site at Hard Rock Stadium expanded Monday to include anyone of any age with COVID-19 symptoms, as well as anyone who was exposed to someone who tested positive. After about an hour and a half, testing capacity was reached for the day.

Testing at Hard Rock was set to resume Tuesday at 9 a.m.

As of Monday, just under 200,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in Florida.