Florida nears 90,000 COVID-19 deaths
TALLAHASSEE - Florida is nearing 90,000 reported resident deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic started in 2020.
According to data released by the state Department of Health last Friday, 89,905 deaths had been reported as of Thursday, up from 89,565 reported as of August 3rd.
Because of lags in reporting, it is unclear when the additional deaths occurred. The new data showed that 69,774, or 77.6 percent, of the deaths involved residents 65 or older. What's more, 76,573, or about 85.2 percent, of the deaths involved people 60 or older.
The new data also showed an increase in reported COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. The state had 18,518 reported new cases during the week that started Aug. 11 and 18,556 new cases during the week that started Aug. 4 - the highest totals in at least 10 weeks.
The Department of Health releases COVID-19 data every two weeks.