What to Know
- Florida passed the 500,000 mark for confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday
- The state had doubled its number of infections in less than four weeks
- The state also confirmed 225 new virus-related deaths among residents, bringing the total to 7,627
Florida surpassed the half-million mark of coronavirus infections Wednesday, doubling its number of infections in less than four weeks.
During those 25 days, the number of confirmed deaths of Florida residents increased by 82%.
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The death toll climbed Wednesday by 225, the fourth largest one day increase on record — to reach 7,627 resident deaths.
Over the last seven days, the state has confirmed an average of 185 deaths a day, the largest rate on record. Deaths are reported up to several weeks after they occur after they are confirmed to be COVID-related.
Hospitalizations of infected residents increased in one day by a new record high of 621. But the state Agency for Healthcare Administration is showing a steady decline in the number of those patients who have a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. There were 7,622 such patients reported Wednesday morning, down from around 9.000 one week ago.
The 5,409 new cases reported by the Florida Department of Health Wednesday brought the state's total to 502,739.
The number of new cases Identified has declined this week, after testing centers were closed late last week in anticipation of tropical-storm winds. The report released Wednesday shows the results of 57,272 tests, compared to more than 100,000 that were reported Saturday.
The positivity rate for new cases in the state remained steady at 10.89% on Wednesday, compared to 10.88% on Tuesday. The positivity rate for all tests in Wednesday's report was 13.96%, down from Tuesday's rate of 14.17%.
The median age of people who tested positive in Wednesday's results was 42, about the average age of cases for the past two weeks.
Statewide, more than 3,820,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 to-date.
In South Florida, Miami-Dade County's case total rose Wednesday by more than 1,100, to 125,949, and the county's virus-related deaths rose by 51, to 1,775.
In Broward County, there were 59,354 COVID-19 cases reported, a daily increase of about 400, along with 783 virus-related deaths, 18 more than Tuesday.
Palm Beach County had 35,283 cases and 882 virus-related deaths Wednesday, while Monroe County had 1,404 cases and 13 deaths.
