MIAMI _ Florida had 1,413 new reported cases of COVID-19 Friday, the highest number of new cases since the outbreak began more than a month ago, according to the state's Department of Health. It also reported 58 new deaths since Thursday evening.
The state is nearing 25,000 cases as health officials reported the total at 24,753. The death toll is now at 726.
The sudden increase follows three consecutive days of fewer than 1,000 new cases being reported, which hasn't happened since late March. The cause may be that thousands of private lab test results are still pending.
Friday evening, 634 more cases and 40 new deaths were announced by health officials, adding to those reported in the morning.
Out of the 58 that have died since Thursday evening, 21 come from South Florida, raising the region's death toll to 420:
_ Five men and seven women between the ages of 54 and 95 died in Miami-Dade, raising the county's death toll to 190, the highest in the state.
_ In Broward, three men and three women between the ages of 55 and 95 died from the disease, raising the county's death count to 105.
_ Palm Beach County reported three men between the ages of 68 and 85 died, bringing the county's death toll to 113.
_ The other deaths were in Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Charlotte, Collier, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Lee, Leon, Manatee, Orange, Pinellas, Polk, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Lucie and St. Johns counties.
Health officials say 623 of the new confirmed COVID-19 cases are Florida residents and 11 are nonresidents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state. Of the total confirmed cases statewide, 24,066 are Florida residents and 687 are non-residents who were diagnosed or isolated in the state.
Health officials say the state has had a total of 3,649 hospitalizations relating to COVID-19 complications.
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 department says it does not "have a figure" to reflect current hospitalization data.
It's likely that the number of confirmed cases is significantly undercounted because the state 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.
While Florida continues to see a daily increase in the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, state and local officials say they are seeing signs that the social distancing measures put in place have been effective and are already forming plans to slowly ease COVID-19 restrictions.
On Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said select beaches and parks in the state could reopen if done safely, according to ClickOrlando.com. Duval was the first county to reopen its beaches in the state Friday, according to Miami Herald news partner WLRN.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry wrote on Twitter that all beaches and parks in Duval County would be reopening with limited hours (6 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.) for exercise only, including walking, biking, hiking, fishing, running, swimming, taking care of pets and surfing.
Social distancing requirements would still need to be followed and no sunbathing, towels, blankets, chairs, coolers or grills would be allowed, according to the city.
On Friday, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez said he's working on a plan to ease restrictions on parks, marinas, golf courses and beaches. He said new rules would govern how close people could get to each other while in recreational areas and on the water, and said more details would come next week as his administration works with medical authorities to finalize a plan.
"We're starting to plan for a new normal" Gimenez said at a press conference Friday. "There are no start dates for any of these openings yet."
Thursday also was the first day the Florida Department of Health disclosed that nearly 20% of the state's 668 reported COVID-19 deaths have been at long-term care facilities in 22 counties. Until Thursday, the department had reported 1,454 cases at the 3,800 nursing home and assisted living facilities in Florida but had not acknowledged the 136 deaths.
As of Friday evening, there were 1,609 cases reported in residents or staff of long-term care facilities and 157 deaths, which make up about 22% of the state's death toll.
The numbers might be an undercount because it's not clear if everyone who has died at the facilities since the outbreak began was tested for COVID-19. It's also still unclear which facilities have had residents or staff test positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The Miami Herald, joined by several other news organizations, is planning to file a public records lawsuit over the agency's refusal to release the data. DeSantis tried to block the suit by having his general counsel persuade the Herald's longtime law firm, which has numerous contracts with state agencies, to withdraw from representing the news outlet. The Herald has found another law firm to handle the suit.
