COVID-19 Deaths

The state hasn't reported this many COVID-19 deaths in one week since the week ending Oct. 7, 2021.

Health experts don't anticipate as many people will die during this wave as did during the delta surge this summer.

As we enter the third year of the pandemic, Health News Florida reporters Stephanie Colombini and Verónica Zaragovia sat down to discuss COVID fatigue and what to expect in the coming year.

More than 430,000 people tested positive for coronavirus last week; at the same time, new case positivity rate dropped for the first time since early November.

The state had nearly 126,000 more people test positive since Friday.

The 76,887 new coronavirus cases brought the state's seven-day daily average to 56,759.

The CDC reported 20,194 new cases were added since Tuesday's report, bringing the state's total to 3,799,661.

The positivity rate for the week more than doubled from 2.6% last week to 5.4% this week.

While Pinellas (2.1%), Sarasota (2.4%) and Hernando (2.4%) Counties recorded positivity rates below the state average, other counties in the region were higher, with Hillsborough and Pasco at 3.5% each, and Polk at 3.4%.

Dr. Syed Zaidi said it's been heartbreaking and frustrating to watch so many unvaccinated COVID-19 patients die. He's urging others to protect themselves before it's too late.

Florida now has a total of 3,560,152 cases and 54,067 deaths.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 54,063 Floridians have died from COVID-19 related complications.