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Florida Reports Yet Another Record High For Weekly COVID-19 Deaths

Florida's death toll from COVID-19 again climbed to new heights, with a total of 2,448 lives lost for the week, according to the Department of Health’s latest report.

Even as the state recorded its highest weekly death toll yet, new cases continued to decline.

The state said an additional 100,012 people tested positive for the coronavirus for the week ending Thursday, almost 29,000 fewer than last week.

The surge fueled by the delta variant appears to have reached its peak two weeks ago, when weekly cases totaled 151,749.

The majority of new cases were among children under 12 for the third week in a row.

There were 17,165 cases in children under 12, down from 23,557 last week. The next highest number was 15,912 cases in the age group of 30-39.

Vaccinations have not yet been approved for children 11 and younger.

Though weekly numbers of cases were down across the state, Friday’s single day count release by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was very close to last Friday’s: 17,854 new cases compared to 17,506 last Friday.

A total of 12,651 people were in hospitals across Florida due to COVID-19 complications — down almost 400 since Thursday.

Each week, the Florida Department of Health provides updates on the number of coronavirus cases, changes in positivity rate, vaccinations, and other statewide and county-by-county data.

The following is a summary from Sept. 3-Sept. 9, 2021.

Cases: 3,409,165 positive cases, an increase of 100,012 from the previous week.

Vaccinations: 13,281,666 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 128,972. In all, 69% of Florida’s population over the age of 12 has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 13.5%, down from 15.2% the previous week.

Deaths: A total of 48,772 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 2,448 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:

(Sept. 3-Sept. 9, 2021)

County

Cases (Increase)

Positivity (prv.)

# Vaccinations

% Vaccinated (prv.)

Hillsborough

223,492 (7,940)

16.5% (17.4%)

825,510

64% (63%)

Pinellas

124,373 (4,340)

14.7% (16.3%)

582,178

65% (65%)

Polk

118,826 (4,787)

18.2% (19.6%)

381,353

62% (61%)

Sarasota

51,218 (2,142)

14.2% (15.3%)

300,324

75% (74%)

Manatee

60,130 (2,462)

15.9% (16.6%)

235,269

66% (65%)

Pasco

72,254 (3,256)

20.0% (19.4%)

305,956

64% (63%)

Hernando

26,277 (1,139)

22.3% (19.9%)

99,860

58% (57%)

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.

Copyright 2021 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7

Kerry Sheridan is a reporter and co-host of All Things Considered at WUSF Public Media.