Florida Breaks Daily Record With 173 Coronavirus Deaths
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The state health department reported that Florida reached a new milestone Thursday with 173 reported coronavirus deaths and pushed the total number of cases in the state past 389,000.
There were 10,249 new coronavirus cases reported Thursday. The latest death count brings the seven-day average to about 121 deaths per day in Florida.
The previous high death toll reported in a single day was 156 on July 16.
The numbers show that hard-hit Miami-Dade County reported 2,732 of the new cases and 12 deaths. Miami-Dade has more than 95,000 coronavirus cases and more than 1,300 deaths, according to the health department.
More than 3.2 million people have been tested for coronavirus in Florida. The seven-day average for positive tests in Florida stood at more than 18% on Wednesday.The number of patients treated in hospitals for COVID-19 was relatively stable at 9,533 in the late morning Thursday, up 15 from 24 hours earlier.
However, as the crunch of coronavirus patients eased slightly in some parts of the state, hospitals in Broward County in South Florida saw an increase of nearly 100 patients, according a census posted online by the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
Gov. Ron DeSantis scheduled a news conference on the coronavirus later Thursday in Melbourne, Florida.
