Florida on Thursday reported 253 new coronavirus fatalities, the highest in one daily report and the third record day in a row. Statewide, 6,585 residents are now dead after contracting the virus.
The state health department also reported new 9,956 infections for a total of 461,379 to date.
Wednesday’s newly reported deaths had been a record at 216, and before that, Tuesday’s report at 186.
When state health officials report a death in the daily update, the number encompasses several days, with actual days of death occurring weeks prior in some cases.
Florida has one of the worst outbreaks anywhere in the nation. The state also recorded its worst week from Sunday to Sunday, with 872 reported resident deaths, a weekly record.
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Nearly 3.6 million people have been tested in Florida, with 52,472 more tests reported Thursday — about 2,000 below the daily July average — compared with the previous day. Over 2.5 million tests have been administered since May 31.
Central Florida on Thursday added 1,168 cases for a total of 73,078: 400 new cases in Orange for 28,591; 222 in Polk for 12,281; 151 in Osceola for 8,281; 135 in Volusia for 6,707; 86 in Seminole for 6,419; 79 in Brevard for 5,333; 82 in Lake for 4,408; and 13 in Sumter for 1,058. (See details on all Central Florida cases here).
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Central Florida had 39 of the deaths reported Thursday, bringing the regional toll to 905.
Central Florida accounts for nearly 16% of the cases statewide and nearly 14% of the deaths. The region’s share of the state’s deaths has ticked up compared with June and the start of July, when it had steadily remained at under 9% of Florida’s total.
Polk, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in Central Florida with 262, followed by 212 in Orange, 109 in Volusia, 108 in Brevard, 72 in Seminole, 64 in Osceola, 51 in Lake, and 27 in Sumter.
To date, 26,017 people have been hospitalized in Florida, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard shows, 518 more than a day earlier. Daily new hospitalizations are up sharply over the past two weeks statewide. They had averaged 200 from June through mid-July, and have since mid-July have averaged nearly 500.
Across Florida, 8,429 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of about 11 a.m. Thursday. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day.
However, in Central Florida, hospitalizations seem to have reached their peak — at least for now — after reaching an all-time high. Still, doctors and public health experts caution that COVID-19 hospitalizations are nowhere close to their lowest point two months ago and may go up again if more people are infected.
Orange County reported 477 patients hospitalized, Osceola with 146, Seminole with 125, and Lake with 89 as of about 11 a.m. Thursday.
Statewide, the latest positivity rate made available by the Florida Department of Health, for Wednesday, was 12%, the 12th day in a row of a positivity rate under 15%.
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South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, surpassed 200,000 total cases on Thursday with 202,924, which is 4,640 than a day earlier. The three-county region is the epicenter of the pandemic in Florida, accounting for 44% of cases among Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.
South Florida’s reported deaths on Thursday rose by 109 for a total of 2,997, nearly 46% of the state’s total.
Some researchers say Florida’s death toll could double by Labor Day unless people devote themselves to social distancing and facial coverings.
A detailed breakdown of Florida’s coronavirus cases can be found here, and county-by-county data can be found here.
List of mobile coronavirus and antibody testing sites in Central Florida by county
The virus has infected over 17 million people and has killed over 667,000 worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. In the U.S., over 4.4 million people have been infected and over 150,000 are dead.
The U.S. has the most fatalities by far, followed by Brazil with over 90,000, the United Kingdom with over 46,000, Mexico with over 45,000, Italy with over 35,000, India with over 34,000, and France with over 30,000.
Within the U.S., New York has the most deaths with over 32,000, followed by New Jersey with over 15,000.
The head of a congressional coronavirus oversight panel on Wednesday demanded Florida’s Gov. Ron DeSantis and three other Republican governors provide documents showing how their states are combating the pandemic.
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Local coronavirus victims: Their lives remembered
Deborah Denise Henson spent much of her adult life in pain — the result of a freakish accident that left her with plates and screws in her back. But you wouldn’t have known it from her smile. She survived a host of medical problems before succumbing to COVID-19.
Pong Hui Chartier, known as “Connie” to customers at the dry cleaning business she operated in Ocoee, liked to do things her way. “She’s never been someone that rested. She was always go, go, go. If anyone was going to live to be 100, it would be my mother,” her daughter said. At 79, Pong Hui took only one medication — for her thyroid. But in early March, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Weeks later, she died as a victim of coronavirus.
Pneumonia caused by COVID-19 killed both Pete and Eleanor Baker, retired snowbirds who were married nearly 62 years and spent winters in an RV in Central Florida.
See more Central Florida coronavirus obituaries here.
Symptoms? Do this
Are you feeling stressed or depressed from the COVID19 outbreak? There are resources available for you. You can contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit https://www.samhsa.gov/disaster-preparedness
How to protect yourself
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with people in poor health.
Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.
Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Follow these guidelines for using a cloth mask.
Questions? Here are numbers to call
The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.
The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents may also email questions to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.
In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For mental-health help, here is a list of resources.
For accurate, up-to-date information, visit
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov
The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.
A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
You want to be extra-prepared? Here’s how to stock up before a pandemic: ready.gov/pandemic
For the latest coronavirus updates, visit OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus and follow @orlandosentinel on Twitter.
See complete coverage at OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Naseem Miller of the Sentinel staff contributed to this report.