Florida adds 1,948 coronavirus cases Wednesday

Florida added 1,948 new coronavirus infections Wednesday, bringing the total statewide to 706,516.

The state added 175 deaths, and the overall death toll rose to 14,488. Nationwide, more than 200,000 people have died of the virus. The weekly death average in the state was about 101 deaths per day.

The state received test results from 44,812 Florida residents that were reported Wednesday. On average, the health department has processed more 56,000 results per day.

Hospitalizations: There were 2,109 people hospitalized in Florida with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 on Wednesday, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration. A total of 253 hospitalizations were announced. In the Tampa Bay area, 452 people are hospitalized with 41 additional admissions announced Wednesday.

According to the agency’s latest numbers, about 24 percent of hospital beds were available in Florida. About 22 percent of adult intensive care unit beds and 35 percent of pediatric ICU beds were open statewide.

Locally, 20 percent of hospital beds were available. Around 14 percent of adult ICU beds were open in the Tampa Bay region.

Positivity: Florida’s positivity rate was 10.56 percent Wednesday, according to calculations from Johns Hopkins University. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health’s positivity rate averaged about 4.4 percent. The department does not include positive retests in its calculations, emphasizing negative tests.

Gov. Ron DeSantis announced this week that Florida is moving into Phase 3 of reopening, lifting all statewide restrictions on businesses. Before loosening social distancing guidelines and regulations, an area should maintain a five percent positivity rate, the World Health Organization recommends. This positivity rate indicates there’s enough testing to capture the full spread of the virus.

Local numbers: Tampa Bay added 361 cases and 20 coronavirus-related deaths Wednesday.

Hillsborough County logged 10 deaths. Citrus County had three deaths, while Hernando and Polk counties had two deaths each. Pinellas, Pasco and Manatee counties each had one additional coronavirus-related death.

Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Polk and Citrus counties all had a positivity rate of about five percent. Manatee County had a positivity rate of about four percent while Pinellas County maintained a three percent positivity rate.

As of the latest counts, Hillsborough County has had 42,248 cases since March, while Pinellas has had 22,181 infections. There have been 20,032 reported cases in Polk County and 11,579 in Manatee. Pasco County has seen 9,322 coronavirus cases and Hernando has reported 3,175 cases. Citrus County has had 2,783 cases.

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