FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ For the third straight day, Florida reported a new record number of new coronavirus deaths: 253.
That's significantly higher than the 216 deaths reported Wednesday and the 191 deaths listed Tuesday.
Florida now has had 6,709 people die from COVID-19 complications, according to the state Department of Health. The deaths reported Thursday did not happen over the past 24 hours, as it takes time for official determinations to be made.
The state has reported an average of 154 deaths per day, 1,077 total, over the last seven days.
The Florida Department of Health on Thursday also reported another 9,956 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19. The test results reported on a single day typically reflect tests taken over several days.
This is the fifth consecutive day that the state has reported fewer than 10,000 cases, the peak was 15,300 infections on July 12. But Thursday's figure is higher than the 9,946 infections reported Wednesday and the 9,230 cases listed on Tuesday's report.
The state's total of known cases now stands at 461,379.
SOUTH FLORIDA
South Florida, which accounts for 29% of Florida's population, reported 4,640 new cases in the past day, or 46.6% of the daily total for the state, according to the state Department of Health.
Broward County: 1,342 new coronavirus cases were reported Thursday, bringing the total to 54,312. A total of 701 people have died, 38 more than reported Wednesday.
Palm Beach County: 525 new cases were reported, bringing the total to 32,696. A total of 821 people have died, 11 more than reported Wednesday.
Miami-Dade County: 2,773 new cases on Thursday, bringing the total to 115,916. A total of 1,531 people have died. That's 60 more than reported Tuesday.
TESTING AND THE POSITIVITY RATE
Florida says it has tested 3.58 million people since the pandemic began, and 12.9% have been positive. Florida has had the third-highest number of COVID-19 tests in the country _ roughly tied with Texas _ behind California (7.5 million) and New York (5.7 million).
Florida reported a 12% positivity rate for tests statewide in the previous 24-hour period, down slightly since Wednesday. But the rates are higher in South Florida: 17.8% for Miami-Dade, 13.8% for Broward, and 9.4% for Palm Beach County.
The daily positivity rate is a key figure, since it's one of the numbers that indicates the prevalence of the disease in the population. In May, Florida's positivity rate was about 5%, and state officials say they want it to drop back down under 10%.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
The number of people being treated for COVID-19 at hospitals on Thursday decreased statewide and in South Florida, records show.
The total stood at 8,380 as of 12:16 p.m. EDT, according to the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration. About 24 hours earlier, the same report listed 8,729 patients.
Miami-Dade County has the most people hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of the new coronavirus: 1,824 patients, a decrease of 120 since Wednesday. Next is Broward with 1,232, down by 35 since Wednesday. Palm Beach County has 532 patients, a decrease of 42.
A different report, from the state health department, shows 26,017 Florida residents have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic. That's an increase of 11,192 patients since July 1, when the total was 14,825 hospitalizations.
DEATHS
Statewide: The official COVID-19 death total for Florida reached 6,709 on Thursday. That figure includes 123 people who were not residents; officials changed that after listing 124 nonresident deaths on Wednesday's report. The three South Florida counties account for 3,053 deaths, which is 45.5% of the state total.
Seniors: At least 2,921 deaths have occurred in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, a figure that represents 44.4% of the state total for coronavirus deaths of residents. Miami-Dade County has the highest number of long-term care facility deaths, with 603, or 20.6% of the total. Palm Beach County had 331 deaths, or 11.3%, and Broward accounted for 208 deaths, or 7.1%.
COVID-19 is the state's deadliest infectious disease, killing three times more Floridians a day than flu/pneumonia, AIDS and viral hepatitis combined, records show. The most vulnerable to death and hospitalization are people older than 65 or those who have underlying health concerns such as weakened immune systems, diabetes or obesity.
GLOBAL VIEW
U.S.: The coronavirus death toll in the United States reached 151,077 as of 11:35 a.m. Thursday, according to the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University.
The United States has reported 4.45 million cases, the highest total in the world.
Worldwide: The global total reached 17 million cases Thursday, with at least 668,250 deaths, Johns Hopkins reported.
The U.S. has 4.3% of the world's population, but 26% of the world's cases and 22.6% of the world's deaths.
