Florida adds 2,628 coronavirus cases, 131 deaths Thursday

Florida’s total of coronavirus infections reached 709,144 Thursday, with 2,628 additional cases reported over the last 24 hours. The Florida Department of Health announced 131 additional coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths to 14,619.

On average, the state has announced about 94 deaths per day this week.

Hospitalizations: According to the latest numbers from the Agency for Health Care Administration, there are 2,085 people hospitalized in Florida due to COVID-19. In Tampa Bay, there are 419 in hospitals with a primary diagnosis of coronavirus.

Statewide, there were 213 new admissions reported Thursday. About 33 of them were in the Tampa Bay region.

Around 24 percent of hospital beds and 22 percent of adult intensive care unit beds were available statewide. In the local area, 20 percent of hospital beds were open, as well as 15 percent of adult ICU beds.

Positivity: John Hopkins University reported Florida’s positivity rate at 11.03 percent on Thursday. Before loosening social distancing guidelines, a region should stay at a positivity rate of five percent or less for at least two weeks, according to the World Health Organization.

The Florida Department of Health averaged a weekly positivity rate of about five percent. Its calculations do not include positive retests, emphasizing negative test results.

Local numbers: There were 423 new COVID-19 cases and 17 deaths reported in Tampa Bay on Thursday.

There were eight deaths reported in Hillsborough County and five in Hernando. Pinellas and Citrus counties each saw two additional deaths. No deaths were reported in Pasco, Polk or Manatee counties Thursday.

Over the past week, Hillsborough, Pasco, Hernando, Polk and Manatee have averaged a positivity rate of five percent. Citrus County’s weekly average positivity rate is four percent, while Pinellas' rate is three percent. The rates come from the Florida Department of Health, which does not include positive retests in its calculations.

Hillsborough County has reported 42,380 cases since March, while Pinellas has had 22,266 confirmed coronavirus cases. Polk County has seen 20,120 infections and there have been 11,619 confirmed cases in Manatee. Pasco County has reported 9,371 cases, and Hernando has had 3,194 infections since March. There have been at least 2,793 confirmed cases in Citrus County.

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