2nd COVID-19 death reported in Alachua County as statewide toll hits 1,074

Confirmed coronavirus cases in Florida surpass 31,500

Healthcare worker put a test swab into a container after swabbing the driver at a newly opened drive-through COVID-19 testing site at the Miami-Dade County Youth Fair & Exposition center, Wednesday, April 8, 2020, in Miami. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee) (Wilfredo Lee, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Alachua County recorded its second coronavirus-related death as the statewide death toll hit 1,074, the Florida Department of Health reported Sunday morning.

Nineteen new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours in Florida, including the death of a 78-year-old woman in Alachua County.

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As of about 10 a.m. Sunday, Florida had 31,528 confirmed COVID-19 cases, an increase of 689 cases since Saturday morning. Of those who have tested positive, 4,957 have been hospitalized -- about 15.7%.

In Northeast Florida’s 11 counties, 2,083 coronavirus cases have been reported, with 45 deaths. Duval County continues to be the hardest hit in the region, with 984 confirmed cases and 18 deaths.

In Alachua County, where the most recent Northeast Florida death was reported, there have been 251 cases reported and two deaths.

Since early March, more than 346,365 COVID-19 tests have been administered in Florida, according to the state Department of Health. The vast majority (90.4%) of the test results have come back negative.

Florida has not reported a number of people who have recovered from the disease.

On Sunday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis asserted that parts of the state are now “on the other side” of the coronavirus outbreak, and said he would soon announce whether he would lift edicts that shuttered much of the state’s economy in the wake of the pandemic.

During a news briefing at an Orlando medical center, the governor again said that the “hysteria” in the early weeks of the outbreak has not materialized in Florida, despite dire predictions that speculated many more deaths than the 1,074 the state has thus far recorded.

DeSantis, however, said reopening the state would be done methodically and said he would be reviewing recommendations from a task force he convened to guide him in his decision.