Despite a downward trend in COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks, Florida set a new single-day high in deaths on Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health reported.
Between Monday morning and Tuesday morning, 83 people died from COVID-19, the largest single-day increase in the state since the coronavirus outbreak began. The previous high, recorded on April 14, was 72.
So far, 1,171 people have died from COVID-19 in Florida and 32,846 people have tested positive. That includes 708 more positive cases since Monday.
Twenty-one of the 83 new deaths were in the Tampa Bay area, according to the health department. Information was only provided for seven of the people who died:
- An 81-year-old Hillsborough County man with no travel history and known contact with another case;
- A 94-year-old Pinellas County woman with no known travel history or contact with another case;
- A 98-year-old Pinellas County woman with no known travel history and a known contact with another case;
- A 78-year-old Pinellas County woman with no known travel history and a known contact with another case;
- A 77-year-old Manatee County woman with no known travel history and unknown contact with possible positive cases of COVID-19;
- A 57-year-old Manatee County woman with no known travel history and no known contact with another case;
- An 89-year-old Sarasota County man with no known travel history and unknown contact with another case;
The spike in deaths comes after the health department this week changed the way it reports new cases to the public, going from twice a day to once a day. Whether that has something to do with the increase was not clear.
Tampa Bay area positive tests as of 11 a.m. Monday, April 27:
- Hillsborough: 1,080 (1,032 local, 48 non-resident)
- Pinellas: 709 (668 local, 41 non-resident)
- Manatee: 563 (561 local, 2 non-resident)
- Polk: 457 (451 local, 6 non-resident)
- Sarasota: 334 (317 local, 17 non-Sarasota resident)
- Pasco: 239 (232 local, 7 non-Pasco resident)
- Hernando: 89 (83 local, 6 non-Hernando resident)
Florida COVID-19 daily total of positive tests/deaths for last two weeks
- April 28: 708/83
- April 27: 610/14
- April 26: 689 / 19
- April 25: 306 / 43
- April 24: 885 / 60
- April 23: 1072 / 60
- April 22: 707 / 60
- April 21: 811 / 44
- April 20: 744 / 49
- April 19: 822 / 26
- April 18: 739 / 22
- April 17: 1413 / 58
- April 16: 821 / 54
- April 15: 891 / 43
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