Florida’s resident death toll from coronavirus rose to 16,105 with the addition of 84 more reported fatalities while the state added 3,662 more positive cases of COVID-19 for a total to date of 760,389.
The Tuesday report from the Florida Department of Health continued the trend of higher numbers than those generally reported on Mondays. Monday saw an increase of 54 deaths and 1,707 cases in comparison.
As far as cases go, with a population of about 21.5 million, about one in 28 people in the state have now been infected. That number is closer to one in 40 nationally and one in 193 worldwide.
With 203 non-Florida resident deaths, the state’s combined total stands at 16,308. Each report includes deaths from several previous days, as it can take two weeks or more for fatalities to be logged.
Florida has seen about one in 1,334 of its residents die from the virus, while nationally it’s closer to one in 1,491 people, and worldwide it’s at about one in 6,967 of the planet’s 7.8 billion population.
Testing has declined statewide, to a daily average of about 23,400 since September 1. That’s down from about 32,000 daily tests on average in August and 54,400 a day in July.
Over 5.7 million people have been tested in Florida, with 28,685 more tests reported Tuesday compared with the previous day.
Statewide, the latest positivity rate reported by the Florida Department of Health was 6.17%, but that’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive. For all cases including retests of those previously infected, the latest positivity rate is 7.69%. The rates are the highest in 10 days.
Florida’s positivity rate reporting has come under criticism, with some saying the true extent of the pandemic within the state has been obscured because of its choice of measure for positive cases. While the state has publicized that its positivity rate has regularly fallen below 5%, other health organizations are publishing data that shows the rate may be dramatically higher.
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Central Florida on Tuesday added 808 cases for a total of 122,856: 322 new cases in Orange for 43,943; 144 in Polk for 21,981; 59 in Osceola for 13,560; 62 in Volusia for 12,038; 94 in Brevard for 10,521; 65 in Seminole for 9,802; 45 in Lake for 8,240; and 17 in Sumter for 2,771. (See details on all Central Florida cases here).
Central Florida had 14 of Tuesday’s newly reported deaths, bringing the region’s toll to 2,506. Polk County, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in the region with 592, followed by 532 in Orange, 350 in Brevard, 310 in Volusia, 236 in Seminole, 218 in Lake, 185 in Osceola, and 83 in Sumter.
Central Florida accounts for 16% of the cases statewide and 15% of the deaths.
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COVID-19 hospitalizations had been steadily falling from mid-July highs of over 8,000 to hover above 2,000 since September.
“You’re probably not going to go too far below that,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a Tuesday press conference.
Across the state, 2,072 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of about 11 a.m. Tuesday including Orange County with 114 patients, Osceola with 78, Seminole with 30, and Lake with 36. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day.
To date, 47,352 people have been hospitalized in Florida, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard shows.
South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for 41% of cases with 310,121. That includes 1,050 new cases reported Tuesday among Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
South Florida’s reported deaths rose by 29 on Tuesday for a total of 6,588, 41% of the state’s total.
The latest breakdown of Florida’s coronavirus cases can be found here. The most recently available county-by-county data can be found here.
List of mobile coronavirus and antibody testing sites in Central Florida by county
The virus has infected over 40 million people and has killed over 1.1 million worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. Nationwide, over 8.2 million people have been infected and over 220,000 are dead.
Since April, America has led the world by far in sheer numbers of confirmed infections and deaths. The U.S. has less than 5% of the globe’s population but more than 20% of the reported deaths.
Black and Hispanic people and American Indians have accounted for a disproportionate share of the deaths, underscoring the economic and health care disparities in the U.S.
Millions of Americans are counting on a COVID-19 vaccine to curb the pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials expected to carry out the work.
Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an overreaction or an infringement on their liberty. Public health experts say the problem has been compounded by confusing and inconsistent guidance from politicians and a patchwork quilt of approaches to containing the scourge by county, state and federal governments.
Brazil has the second-most fatalities with over 154,000, India with over 115,000, Mexico with over 86,000, the United Kingdom with over 43,000, Italy with over 36,000, and Spain, Peru and France with over 33,000.
Within the U.S., New York has the most deaths with over 33,000, followed by Texas with over 17,000, California and New Jersey with more than 16,000 and then Florida with the fifth most fatalities.
The actual number of cases around the world is believed to be much higher than reported — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the CDC — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.
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Local coronavirus victims: Their lives remembered
Juan Carlos Sosa has been described as “Juan in a million,” but for his family he is “Juan the one and only.” Whenever someone needed help, there he was, willing to assist, no matter the day or time. Now, he will no longer greet students with a big smile when they arrive at Celebration K-8 school and will never be able sing in the car with his daughter. Juan Carlos died on Aug. 30 at age 57. His family believes he was infected with coronavirus after he celebrated his birthday at the school where he was a custodian.
Deborah Denise Henson spent much of her adult life in pain — the result of a freakish accident that left her with plates and screws in her back. But you wouldn’t have known it from her smile. She survived a host of medical problems before succumbing to COVID-19.
Pong Hui Chartier, known as “Connie” to customers at the dry cleaning business she operated in Ocoee, liked to do things her way. “She’s never been someone that rested. She was always go, go, go. If anyone was going to live to be 100, it would be my mother,” her daughter said. At 79, Pong Hui took only one medication — for her thyroid. But in early March, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Weeks later, she died as a victim of coronavirus.
See more Central Florida coronavirus obituaries here.
Symptoms? Do this
Are you feeling stressed or depressed from the COVID19 outbreak? There are resources available for you. You can contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit https://www.samhsa.gov/disaster-preparedness
How to protect yourself
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with people in poor health.
Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Follow these guidelines for using a cloth mask.
Questions? Here are numbers to call
The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.
The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents may also email questions to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.
In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For mental-health help, here is a list of resources.
For accurate, up-to-date information, visit
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.
A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
You want to be extra-prepared? Here’s how to stock up before a pandemic: ready.gov/pandemic
For the latest coronavirus updates, visit OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus and follow @orlandosentinel on Twitter.
See complete coverage at OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.