JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A day after setting a record with more than 270 reported COVID-19 deaths in Florida, Northeast Florida tied a record for most deaths reported in one day on Wednesday with 21, according to the state department of health.
Statewide, the health department reported 213 additional deaths Wednesday.
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The state’s total of coronavirus-related deaths includes 8,765 Florida residents and 133 non-residents. Of those, 212 Florida resident deaths were reported Wednesday with one additional non-resident death reported.
The additional deaths brought Florida’s seven-day average for COVID-19 deaths to 164. (Note: The deaths reported daily by the Florida Department of Health did not necessarily die in the previous 24 hours as deaths related to coronavirus are often delayed in state reporting.)
Among the number of deaths added Wednesday were 12 in Duval County, four in Columbia County, three deaths in St. Johns County and one death each in Clay and Putnam counties. The ages of the victims range from 47 to 100 years old with the average age being around 82-years-old.
Duval County has now surpassed 200 deaths (212) while Clay and St. Johns counties have reported 53 and 39 deaths, respectively.
Overall, Florida added 8,109 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday for a statewide total of 550,901.
In Duval County, 231 new cases were recorded Wednesday. The rate of positive COVID-19 tests — considered a measure of active infection spreading in the community — that came back Wednesday increased from 7.2% to 8.5% in the county while the state’s positivity rate increased from 10.29% to 11.89%.
Elsewhere in Northeast Florida, Baker County added 80 new cases (41.8% positivity rate) while St. Johns County added 36 cases, Alachua added 63 and Columbia added 24 (14.4% positivity rate).
The number of hospitalizations due to the virus increased by 593 statewide on Wednesday.
Daily COVID-19 cases reported in Florida, Jacksonville
Some schools reopened Monday in about 10 districts, which include Baker and Bradford counties, with a handful of others, including Union County, to follow during the week. North of the border, a high school student in Pierce County, Georgia, was sent home sick on the first day of school Monday and tested positive for COVID-19, according to the district.