MIAMI _ Florida's Department of Health on Thursday morning confirmed 256 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the state total of confirmed cases to 28,832. The statewide death toll is nearing 1,000, with 33 new deaths announced. The toll is now at 960.
Of the new deaths, 25 were in South Florida.
Six women between the ages of 51 and 98 and two men, a 65-year-old and a 75-year-old, died in Miami-Dade County, bringing the county's death toll to 260, the state's highest count.
Seven men between the ages of 54 and 91 and two women, a 75-year-old and a 91-year-old, died in Broward, raising the county's toll to 156. Eight people between the ages of 50 and 97 died in Palm Beach County, raising the county's toll to 143.
The other deaths were in Charlotte, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Martin, Polk and St. Lucie counties.
Of the total new cases, 252 are Florida residents and four are non-residents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state. Of the total statewide cases, 28,043 are Florida residents and 789 are non-residents.
Health officials say the state has had 4,509 hospitalizations relating to COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The statewide and county-level data for COVID-19 hospitalizations includes anyone who was hospitalized during their illness and "does not reflect the number of people currently hospitalized," according to Florida's Department of Health.
The state says it does not "have a figure" to reflect current hospitalization data.
Despite the daily reports of additional confirmed cases and deaths, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced earlier this week that the state's coronavirus curve had flattened.
But health experts are concerned the statewide total of confirmed cases is significantly undercounted because Florida reports only the number of Floridians waiting to hear test results from state labs, not private ones _ and private labs are completing more than 90% of state tests.
The results of thousands of pending tests from private labs have taken as long as two weeks to be added to the state's official count. The state's website does not say its figures exclude the vast majority of pending tests for the novel coronavirus.
On Wednesday, DeSantis announced two new contracts with laboratories that will increase COVID-19 testing capacity by 18,000 samples per day by using rapid tests that provide results in one or two days. More than 10 new walk-up sites would also be set up in Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Duval, Leon and Orange counties in the coming weeks, he said.
Three drive-thru testing sites in Miami-Dade _ Marlins Park, the Youth Fair site at Tamiami Park and the South Dade Government Center _ are also beginning to schedule free retesting appointments Thursday. The appointments are for those who previously tested positive for COVID-19 and wanted to be retested again to see if they were cured.
Previously, retesting for the disease was not allowed at the free drive-thru sites, forcing people to seek second tests from private healthcare providers.
DeSantis is also expecting to receive a list of recommendations Friday from the Re-Open Florida Task Force, which had its first meeting Monday on how the state can reopen. On Wednesday, the task force _ composed of lawmakers and executives from large corporations _ said it needed advice from doctors on what safety measures re-opened businesses would have to follow.
Counties and cities across the state have also begun to reopen beaches with limited access in an attempt to return life back to normalcy. In Miami-Dade, the plan so far is to allow parks, marinas and golf courses to reopen in the near future but not beaches.
Monroe County leaders are also starting to work on a "framework" to relax restrictions for residents along the island chain but say there is no predicted date as to when it will happen. Unlike the rest of South Florida, the Florida Keys haven't reported a new confirmed case of COVID-19 since Saturday but is "not yet in recovery mode," according to a Monroe County spokeswoman.
Officials say the island chain will likely not reopen to visitors until its neighboring counties to the north, including Miami-Dade, significantly ease their COVID-19 restrictions.
The push to reopen Florida and several other states comes after millions in the country were left unemployed as businesses shuttered their doors during stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders.
Dr. Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told "Fox & Friends" last week the COVID-19 outbreak had "stabilized" across the U.S. but had not hit its peak yet.
"We've stabilized and I anticipate that we will begin to see a decline in the days ahead, but we have got to just continue to take it day by day and look at the data," Redfield said.
He said people would know once the U.S. hit its peak because the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases would start to drop. The U.S. would then have to gradually reopen "in a thoughtful, prudent way, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, based on the data about what's the state of transmission of this virus in those areas," he said.
As of Thursday morning, the United States has had more than 842,620 confirmed cases of the disease, more than other country, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine in Maryland, which is tracking county-by-county data in the U.S. Of the known U.S. cases, 76,614 have recovered.
Miami-Dade County, which has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Florida, is ranked at No. 16 in the university's list of counties with the most COVID-19 cases in the U.S.
While some support the country's economic reopening and have even started holding protests to end the stay-at-home and shelter-in-place orders, others worry it's too soon.
The United States would have to significantly increase testing, tracing and its supported isolation abilities before the country would be able to end its quarantine safely, according to a Harvard University report reviewed by ABC News.
In Florida, a majority of voters say they are not ready for the state's stay-at-home order to be lifted, according to a new poll by Quinnipiac University.
Based on the poll results, 72% of voters say Florida should not loosen social distancing rules before the end of April and nearly three-quarters of voters say Florida's economy should not reopen until public health officials say it's safe, compared to 17% who say it should reopen even if public health officials warn against it.
CONFIRMED COVID-19 CASES IN SOUTH FLORIDA
As of Thursday morning, here's what Florida's Department of Health data showed:
Miami-Dade County had 67 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the county total to 10,356 confirmed cases. Of those cases, 10,234 are residents, 121 are non-residents and one is a resident who is not in Florida. Those who have fallen ill range from 0 to 103. (A person who is listed as age zero means they are less than 1.) The county has had 1,139 hospitalizations and 260 deaths, Florida's highest death toll.
Broward County reported 61 additional confirmed cases, raising the county total of confirmed cases to 4,315. Health officials say 4,192 are residents and 123 are non-residents. Those who have fallen ill range from 0 to 102. The county has had 827 hospitalizations and 156 deaths.
Palm Beach County had 55 additional confirmed cases of COVID-19, raising the county total to 2,468. Health officials say 2,411 are residents, 55 are non-residents and two are residents who are not in Florida. Those who have fallen ill range from 0 to 104. The county has had 395 hospitalizations and 143 deaths.
Monroe County did not report any additional confirmed cases of the disease. The county has 73 known cases of COVID-19. Only eight of them are non-residents. Those who have fallen ill range from age 6 to 80. The Florida Keys have had three deaths and 11 hospitalizations.
