JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – For the third day in a row, Florida’s total of reported coronavirus cases showed the largest daily increase to date, with a total of 2,581 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, according to data release Saturday by the state’s health department.
Florida now has 73,552 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
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The surge of cases over the last 11 days coincides both with the reopening of Florida’s economy following the statewide Safer at Home lockdown and with an increase in the state’s testing capacity.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry on Friday again pointed to an increase in testing as a likely reason for the rising numbers in the raw data, but said the numbers he watches closely are the percent of positive cases and the city’s hospitalizations for coronavirus, which he said are going down. On Saturday morning, Curry appeared on Fox News and was asked about the virus.
“We were on the front of the testing when the pandemic started and we continue to, but recall when this all started, all the experts told us flatten the curve, protect the hospital and health systems --without a vaccine, the virus is with us. We’ve done that in Jacksonville. We’ve done that in Florida. Our hospitalizations are low, we watch that daily," Curry said. "We’re going to have to learn to live with this virus in a responsible way, take care of those that are most likely to get it and end up with symptoms and end up in the hospital. But we have to get people back to work and we’ve been doing that now for weeks working with our governor, and we’re going put on a big event and have a major economic impact for our businesses.”
In the last 24 hours, the state reported a 6.28% percent positive for new cases. According to the state, this percent is the number of people who test positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day, excluding people who have previously tested positive.
The state now reports 11,874 patients have been hospitalized with coronavirus. Looking over the last 11 days, the state has averaged 133 additional hospitalizations a day. The state does not release data specifically on how many patients are currently hospitalized with coronavirus.
As of Saturday’s report from the health department, Florida had administered 1.37 million tests for COVID-19. The state data indicate that a person can be counted more than once in the overall testing number, because patients often need multiple tests over days or weeks before they are cleared to return to normal activities. The positive cases the state lists, however, are only for the first time the patient tests positive.
The state has now reported 2,925 deaths.
Complete coronavirus data for Northeast Florida counties
Tracking the last 11 days of coronavirus case jumps (and hospitalization increases) in Florida:
- Wednesday: 1,317 new cases (113 more hospitalizations)
- Saturday: 2,581 (168)