Florida on Friday reported its largest single-day increases of new coronavirus cases, capping off a week with nearly 300,000 new infections.
The end-of-year surge has been building since before Christmas. The demand for testing prompted the city of Tampa to open a new testing location Friday, where thousands of people reportedly waited for hours to get a test.
The state reported 75,900 new coronavirus cases on Friday, breaking another state record for the most cases in a single day, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The number of cases reported last week in Florida grew by 298,455, according to data released by the state Department of Health on Friday. That's more than double the number of cases from the previous week.
The positivity rate for the week was 26.5%, up 12.7% from the previous week.
The state's COVID-19 death toll now stands at 62,504, up 162 from a week earlier. That's compared to 122 new deaths recorded last week.
The following is a summary from Dec. 24 - Dec. 30, 2021.
Cases: 4,166,392 positive cases, an increase of 298,455 from the previous week.
Vaccinations: 14,868,902 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 81,503. In all, 71% of Florida’s population over the age of five has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 26.5%, up from 13.8% the previous week.
Deaths: A total of 62,504 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 162 from the previous week.
(NOTE: Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.)
County Breakdown:
(Dec. 24-Dec. 30, 2021)
| County | Cases (Increase) | Positivity (prv.) | # Vaccinations | % Vaccinated (prv.) * | |
| Hillsborough | 268,504 (15,027) | 26% (10.8%) | 940,986 | 66% (66%) | |
| Pinellas | 145,832 (6,615) | 19.5% (7.2%) | 639,204 | 67% (67%) | |
| Polk | 140,400 (7,524) | 26.1% (9.5%) | 432,673 | 64% (63%) | |
| Sarasota | 60,423 (2,748) | 16.5% (6.7%) | 321,941 | 76% (75%) | |
| Manatee | 69,705 (2,805) | 18.2% (6.9%) | 261,071 | 67% (67%) | |
| Pasco | 85,229 (3,372) | 20.8% (7.8%) | 340,731 | 65% (65%) | |
| Hernando | 30,097 (881) | 19.3% (7.5%) | 110,872 | 60% (59%) |
* - Vaccination rate now includes children ages 5-11 years old.
ABOUT THE DATA: As of June 4, 2021, the Florida Department of Health no longer offers daily updates on coronavirus data, and instead issues a county-by-county and statewide weekly breakdown on about COVID-19 cases, deaths, and other information. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.
