New COVID-19 cases in Florida trend downward as deaths rise

On April 28 health officials reported 83 deaths

ORLANDO, Fla. – Gov. Ron DeSantis has consistently touted the statewide number of COVID-19 cases is trending downward in Florida.

“Yesterday’s test results have got to be the lowest percent positive since we’ve been doing any type of major testing,” the governor said at a press conference Tuesday.

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It is good news, but there is another statistic that stands out to News 6: The number of deaths from COVID-19 is trending upward.

The data also shows four days earlier on April 2, Florida hit another spike--43 deaths from coronavirus in a single day, according to the Florida Department of Health.

The upward trend continued on April 14 there were 72 deaths.

On April 28, there were 83 deaths.

This week, the state hit 72 deaths again on Tuesday, which is the second-highest daily death rate we have had since COVID-19 started, according to statistics from the Florida Department of Health.

The White House coronavirus task force has been monitoring models from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation Research Center out of the University of Washington.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation created a new model for COVID-19 deaths Monday night, just after Florida entered phase 1 of reopening.

The new model doubles the number of deaths previously projected. Like weather forecasting, these models are subject to change based on new data, which in this case would be less people staying home as restrictions lift.

The latest models now estimates that Florida will have nearly 4,000 coronavirus deaths by Aug. 4.

Currently, the state death toll stands at 1,471 from COVID-19.


About the Author:

Emmy Award-winning reporter Louis Bolden joined the News 6 team in September of 2001 and hasn't gotten a moment's rest since. Louis has been a General Assignment Reporter for News 6 and Weekend Morning Anchor. He joined the Special Projects/Investigative Unit in 2014.

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