WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida's coronavirus deaths rose by a record 357 and cases increased by 20,656 in one day though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now only reflecting the date of occurrence rather than whenreported to the Florida Department of Health.
On Thursday, the CDC reported 18 people died from COVID-19 on Wednesday -- with it often taking days and even weeks for the agency to receive the fatality. And cases' increase was different than a record 24,869 new infections. Often, cases data are revised because of changes in test results. Subsequently, the data from Tuesday revised from 24,753 and deaths went from 4 to 30 as more were reported to the agency.
The original increased record was 276 one year ago Aug. 11.
It's not clear if this large increase of deaths may be because of a backlog of deaths coming to the agency.
The federal agency back-adjusted cumulative figures for several days as new data came in.
By submitting a complete renewed set of case data to the CDC each day, Weesam Khoury, the Florida DOH communications director, told the Miami Herald: "This will ensure that continuous epidemiological analyses provide the most updated data to the public,” Khoury said.
In fact, the state has never listed increases on its since disbanded website and reports as media outlets, including WPTV, did the math each day.
The state ended daily reports on June 4, when COVID-19 was waning, with the state no longer reporting county fatality totals. Also, cases and deaths totals that include nonresidents no longer are being reported. At the time the reports were scrapped, there were 43,535 cases and 744 deaths of nonresidents.
According to the CDC, the total number of residents' deaths are 40,539 and cases are 2,827,469.
The state, which is the third most populous in the nation with 16.5% of the population, is in fourth place overall behind California, New York and Texas, with a total of 341 over seven days, or 49 daily, which is behind No. `1 Texas with 446 and ahead of Louisiana with 279 and Missouri with 204. The one-day U.S. increase Wednesday was 622 with Florida at 2.9% for deaths reported by states.
Florida represented 18.9% of the 131,917 new cases in the U.S. reported Wednesday.
Cases rose by 148,741 in one week, or 21,249 daily, ahead of second-place Texas with 88,641 and California with 54,920.
Meanwhile, hospitalization broke a record again: 15,796 for 26.85% of the total beds available. Total beds with patients were 50,991 or 85.31%. In all there are 59,774 total beds with 253 hospitals reporting one day after 232.
In state vaccination data from the CDC, 71.5% of Florida's population 18 and older has had at least one dose for a total of 12,967,103 and 6`1.3% fully vaccinated. Florida passed 70% on Friday, becoming the 21st state in the nation to reach that milestone. President Joe Biden had set a nationwide goal of 70% vaccinated by July 4 with at least one dose by adults, and the current figure is 71.5%. Totally vaccinated is 61.3%.
For those 12 and older in Florida, 69.3% had at least one dose and the complete series is 57.3%. Only people 12 and older are allowed to receive the vaccine.
For the total population, the percentage is 60.4% for one shot (12,892,048) and the complete series is 49.9 (10,720,783).