The Florida Department of Health reported 5,140 people tested positive for the coronavirus since Thursday’s report, including 973 in the greater Tampa Bay region.
That brings the total number of people diagnosed statewide to 1,999,257.
This past week saw an increase of 27,213 cases statewide, and 6,155 in the region.
That’s slightly less than last week's report, which recorded 27,570 positive tests statewide week and 6,050 in the region.
The state also recorded the deaths of 54 more people Friday due to COVID-19 related complications — 16 of those occurred in the region.
Those deaths could have occurred days or weeks earlier.
The number of people currently hospitalized statewide with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 dropped by 33 to 2,917 in Friday’s report. Earlier this week, it hit 2,868 — the lowest level since early November.
The state’s positivity rate on 121,657 tests returned Thursday was 5.02% — slightly lower than the last few days. The week’s average of people testing positive for the first time was 5.58%, up just a bit from last week’s average of 5.38%.
More than 4.57 million people have received a coronavirus vaccine in the state, with more than half considered fully vaccinated, meaning they either had both doses of a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
State Totals (as of Friday, March 19)
- Positive Tests – 1,999,257
- Deaths – 33,273
Daily Changes:
- State: Positive Tests – 5,140 | Deaths – 54
- Greater Tampa Bay region: Positive Tests – 973 | Deaths – 16
Daily Testing (statewide):
- Tests Received – 121,657 | Positivity Rate – 5.02%
ABOUT THE DATA: The Florida Department of Health produces a daily update around 11 a.m. with information about COVID-19 cases and deaths that were reported over the previous 24 hours. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state separately tracks cases and deaths that occurred on specific days on its dashboard and those totals are frequently updated.
Florida COVID-19 daily total of positive tests/deaths for the last two weeks:
- March 19: 5,140/54
- March 18: 5,093/99
- March 17: 4,599/59
- March 16: 4,791/102
- March 15: 2,826/99
- March 14: 3,699/31
- March 13: 5,244/85
- March 12: 5,214/105
- March 11: 5,065/96
- March 10: 4,853/62
- March 9: 4,426/132
- March 8: 3,312/83
- March 7: 4,098/66
- March 6: 4,690/107
