ORLANDO, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health on Friday reported 3,815 new COVID-19 cases. The new cases bring the state’s running total since March to 615,806 cases.
As of Friday morning, there were 3,993 patients currently hospitalized with coronavirus in Florida, according to the state Agency for Healthcare Administration.
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The Florida Department of Health reported 311 new hospitalizations on Thursday, bringing the overall total to 38,029 since March.
On Friday, the state announced 88 new fatalities, bringing Florida’s death toll from the virus up to 11,099. The total includes 10,957 residents and 142 non-residents who died in Florida.
Many people who test positive for COVID-19 will have mild or no symptoms at all, which is why it is important to monitor hospitalizations and deaths attributed to the virus.
The positivity rate, which represents the number of people who tested positive for the first time compared to the overall number of tests reported by the DOH for the day prior was 5.73% on Friday.
Florida has continually shown a dip in the positivity rate. On Thursday, Florida officially marked two weeks in a row where the rate was below 10% confirming that the rate of infections in Florida is dropping.
With cases officially on the decline in Florida, students are continuing to find themselves being asked to quarantine at home after positive cases are linked to their school.
During a news conference on Thursday, Orange County officials said additional cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed, for a total of 21 students who tested positive for the novel coronavirus and 15 employees.
OCPS officials said as of Thursday afternoon, 117 people had been asked to quarantine as a precaution. Find out which schools had confirmed cases by clicking or tapping here.
[CORONAVIRUS ON CAMPUS: Students, staff in quarantine after COVID-19 cases reported at Osceola schools | 15 positive cases reported at Brevard County schools in weeks before start of year, union says]
Here are three things to know about coronavirus in Central Florida for Friday:
- No theme park outbreaks -- so far: Dr. Raul Pino from the Florida Department of Health in Orange County said the fact that guests are primarily outdoors when they visit Walt Disney World, Universal and SeaWorld likely makes it harder for the deadly respiratory illness to be transmitted. He said the theme parks have strict safety measures such as requiring masks and safety checks plus they have cleaning protocols in place. Find out what else Dr. Pino had to say about the Central Florida theme parks by clicking or tapping here.
- Judge sides with teacher’s union: Siding with teachers unions, a Leon County circuit judge Thursday lifted a stay of his earlier ruling that a state order requiring schools to reopen in August is unconstitutional. Judge Charles Dodson on Monday issued a temporary injunction accusing Gov. Ron DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and other state education officials of ignoring the Florida Constitution by requiring school districts to resume face-to-face instruction this month amid the coronavirus pandemic.
- Coronavirus spam calls: The calls from a company hired by the state of Florida to provide contact tracing, showed up as potential spam. Florida State Sen. Lori Berman said some of her constituents answered the call-but worried others would not. News 6 traced the origin of the calls to a company called Maximus. In May, the Florida Department of Health entered a $6.2 million contract with Maximus for COVID-19 contact tracing, according to a state database. In August, the state added two more contracts -- one for $49.9 million and another for $13.8 million. To find out what the company is doing about the issue, click or tap here.
[MORE COVERAGE: Seminole County schools asks more than 100 people to quarantine after exposure to COVID-19]
Below is a breakdown of COVID-19 cases across Central Florida as of Aug. 28:
| County | Total Cases | New Cases | Total Hospitalizations | New Hospitalizations | Total Deaths | New Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 7,132 | 40 | 639 | 6 | 207 | 2 |
| Flagler | 1,288 | 9 | 107 | 0 | 15 | 0 |
| Lake | 6,275 | 62 | 388 | 16 | 103 | 4 |
| Marion | 8,321 | 60 | 730 | 8 | 169 | 4 |
| Orange | 35,449 | 204 | 1,095 | 6 | 370 | 1 |
| Osceola | 10,988 | 96 | 539 | 2 | 128 | 0 |
| Polk | 16,692 | 123 | 1,816 | 5 | 429 | 4 |
| Seminole | 7,934 | 38 | 568 | 6 | 172 | 3 |
| Sumter | 1,819 | 65 | 208 | 3 | 48 | 0 |
| Volusia | 9,174 | 48 | 701 | 2 | 187 | 1 |
Editor’s note: The numbers and data referenced in this story are publicly available on the Florida Department of Health website here and on the AHCA dashboard here.
To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter and go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.