ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health reported 9,785 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as well as 140 deaths, marking the second consecutive day the state reported fewer than 10,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus.
The new cases bring the state’s overall total number of confirmed coronavirus cases since the virus was first detected in Florida to 379,619.
On July 1, the Florida Department of Health began reporting resident and non-resident deaths as separate categories. With 139 new ones, the state reported a total of 5,345 Florida resident deaths on Wednesday and one new non-resident death, for a cumulative total of 5,459 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Florida has reported a total of 114 non-resident deaths since the start of the outbreak.
On Wednesday, Florida’s daily COVID-19 positivity rate, which represents the number of people who tested positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day and excludes those who have previously tested positive, stood at 10.55%. As of Wednesday, 3,158,741 people had been tested statewide.
[RELATED: UPDATE: See Florida’s curve when it comes to coronavirus cases]
The state also recently began reporting the number of patients currently hospitalized for COVID-19 through the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration dashboard. As of Wednesday morning, 9,492 people were receiving treatment at medical facilities across the state due to complications from the novel coronavirus. Overall, 22,243 Florida residents have been hospitalized for the virus since the start of the pandemic.
According to the dashboard, 15.4% of adult ICU beds were available Wednesday morning.
Gov. Ron DeSantis is expressing confidence that Florida will soon contain its coronavirus outbreak and that hospitals can handle the current influx of patients. The governor put forward a positive case even as the state’s average daily death toll is now the nation’s worst. DeSantis said hospital admissions and the percentage of tests coming back positive seem to be plateauing or declining in much of the state. He also says hospitals have sufficient capacity in their intensive care units and overall.
Florida recorded more than 100 new coronavirus deaths for the seventh time in two weeks, pushing its toll from the pandemic to nearly 5,500. With the new deaths reported Wednesday, Florida’s weekly average now stands at 118 a day. That is equal with Texas for the worst current daily average in the nation. Texas has about a third more people than Florida. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 deaths a day before the daily totals began creeping up and then spiking the past two weeks.
Below is the state COVID-19 dashboard. If you are having trouble viewing the dashboard on mobile, click here.
While all brick-and-mortar schools have been ordered by the state to reopen for the fall semester, many districts are adjusting their plans to delay school start dates and postpone practices for fall sports.
Parents of Central Florida students can find everything they need to know about their district’s back-to-school plan at ClickOrlando.com/backtoschool.
Results from a survey conducted by Orange County Public Schools officials to gauge how teachers and families feel about the upcoming semester were released Tuesday and showed that online learning is the preferred option among both groups.
As of Monday, more than 9,000 teachers and 45,000 families had responded to the survey. Click here for a closer look at the results.
Here’s a county-by-county breakdown of coronavirus numbers in the Central Florida region:
| County | Total Cases | New cases | Deaths | Hospitalizations | New Hospitalizations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 4,561 | 148 | 58 | 302 | 12 |
| Flagler | 696 | 13 | 7 | 58 | 1 |
| Lake | 3,594 | 121 | 36 | 173 | 0 |
| Marion | 2,826 | 105 | 35 | 273 | 9 |
| Orange | 24,700 | 689 | 138 | 668 | 11 |
| Osceola | 6,687 | 208 | 43 | 284 | 6 |
| Polk | 10,309 | 237 | 200 | 808 | 49 |
| Seminole | 5,633 | 114 | 51 | 295 | 12 |
| Sumter | 881 | 22 | 21 | 131 | 9 |
| Volusia | 5,657 | 127 | 89 | 410 | 15 |
The latest numbers come one day after some Central Florida counties reported record-breaking COVID-19 data.
With Tuesday’s numbers, Marion and Volusia counties set new records, reporting their highest number of cases in a single day. Marion County reported 171 positive cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, breaking its previous record of 164, reported Sunday and last Wednesday. Volusia County reported 233 new cases Tuesday, breaking its record of 229 new cases set on Sunday.
Polk County also set a new record Tuesday, reporting 90 new hospitalizations and shattering its previous new hospitalizations record of 22, which was just reported on Sunday.
Central Florida is also expected to be home to a number of clinical trials as the race to find a COVID-19 vaccine continues.
Accel Clinical Services announced Wednesday that its DeLand clinical research unit would serve as one of the sites for several clinical trials of coronavirus vaccines.
Researchers estimate that they may need up to 2,500 participants over the next year.
Those interested in applying should visit covidorlando.com and provide their information.
Orlando Immunology Center has also been chosen by the National Institutes of Health as one of 33 locations in the country to conduct the next round of trials for a coronavirus vaccine.
The trials will officially begin on Aug. 8, but OIC is actively recruiting volunteers now. Anyone interested in participating can click here for more information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter and go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.