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Record-high number of new coronavirus cases recorded in Hillsborough

Statewide, the daily total rose by 2,610 with 25 new deaths recorded, five of them in the Tampa Bay area.
 
A woman undergoes a coronavirus test in April at the Childs Park Recreation Center in St. Petersburg.
A woman undergoes a coronavirus test in April at the Childs Park Recreation Center in St. Petersburg. [ SCOTT KEELER | Times ]
Published June 17, 2020|Updated June 17, 2020

Hillsborough County saw a record-high number of coronavirus cases for a single day Wednesday and statewide. Florida added 2,610 new cases for the day.

Wednesday was the 15th consecutive day where new recorded cases topped 1,000 statewide. Tuesday saw a record setting 2,783 new cases.

In a news conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis attributed the rise to expanded testing of people who show no symptoms of the disease to those the state has targeted who are in high-risk populations and close contact. DeSantis said shutting down the state again would do more harm than good and wouldn’t slow the number of cases within those targeted populations.

The state also added 25 deaths on Wednesday, bringing the total to 3,110 total deaths from coronavirus.

How fast is the number of Florida COVID-19 cases growing?

What’s the picture in the state?

As of Wednesday, Florida has recorded 82,719 coronavirus infections and 3,110 deaths. Hospitalizations increased by 184 people, bringing the total number of residents and non-residents who have had to be treated in hospitals to 12,673.

Average deaths per day dropped to about 32 from 34 the day before the numbers have stayed close to where they were at the start of June.

About 1.48 million people statewide have been tested for the virus, with 5.6 percent of all total tests coming back positive. That number has risen slightly over the past week, from about 5.3 percent of all tests.

The vast majority of people to die from the disease in Florida has been those 65 and older, but cases are spread in a bell-curve across different age groups.

Just over half of all Florida deaths are tied to long-term care centers, according to state data.

Is Florida’s coronavirus outbreak still growing?

What’s the picture in Tampa Bay?

The Tampa Bay area added five deaths on Wednesday and 542 new cases. Hillsborough hit a record for new single-day cases with 244 infections reported. Pinellas County also had a near-record high day for new cases with 161 added.

Pinellas County recorded three new deaths, while Hillsborough and Manatee each had one.

The new deaths include a 90-year-old Hillsborough man, an 87-year-old Manatee man and Pinellas women aged 65, 80 and 85.

As of the latest counts, Hillsborough has 4,273 cases and 107 deaths; Pinellas has 2,684 cases and 111 deaths; Polk has 1,634 cases and 75 deaths; Manatee has 1,523 cases and 119 deaths; Pasco has 583 cases and 17 deaths; Citrus has 157 cases and 12 deaths; and Hernando has 147 cases and six deaths.

Florida coronavirus cases by age group

Doctors say older people are at a greater risk to developing severe symptoms from COVID-19, which makes Florida especially vulnerable.

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