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Florida COVID-19 Cases Down Sunday; Hospitalizations, Deaths Rise

WUSF | By Mark Schreiner

Published December 20, 2020 at 8:21 PM EST

The Florida Dept. of Health said 8,401 people tested positive for coronavirus statewide since Saturday's report, while also recording the deaths of 97 people.

The Department of Health said 8,401 people tested positive for the coronavirus since Saturday's report — the first day in five that the number of new cases in the state was less than 11,500.

While the number of new COVID-19 cases reported Sunday was down from a day earlier, deaths and hospitalizations were higher.

The Florida Department of Health said 8,401 people tested positive for the coronavirus since Saturday's report, bringing the total number of cases to 1,201,566. It's the first day in five the number of new cases in the state was less than 11,500.

Statewide, the deaths of 97 people due to complications from COVID-19 were recorded since Saturday, bringing the overall death toll to 20,861. That's up from 74 deaths recorded a day earlier.

The deaths were recorded by the state since Saturday’s report, but they may have occurred days or weeks earlier.

As of 4 p.m. Sunday, the state reported 5,235 people were being treated at hospitals in Florida with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19.

It's the sixth straight day more than 5,000 people were hospitalized statewide. It's also up by 149 from the same time Saturday.

The number of people hospitalized in the greater Tampa Bay region for COVID-19 was up 50 to 1,137.

The Florida Department of Health reported the state got back the results for 118,234 tests Saturday. Of those tested for the first time, 7.91% were positive. That follows six days where the positivity rate was above 8%.

State Totals (as of Saturday, Dec. 19):

Positive Tests - 1,201,566
Deaths - 20,861

Daily Changes:

State: Positive Tests - 8,401 | Deaths - 97
Greater Tampa Bay Region: Positive Tests - 1,481| Deaths - 10

Daily Testing (statewide):

Tests Received - 118, 234| Positivity Rate - 7.91%

ABOUT THE DATA: The Florida Department of Health produces a daily update around 11 a.m. with information about COVID-19 cases and deaths that were reported over the previous 24 hours. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state separately tracks cases and deaths that occurred on specific days on its dashboard and those totals are frequently updated.

Dec. 20: 8,401/97
Dec. 19: 11,682/74
Dec. 18: 13,000/96
Dec. 17: 13,148/104
Dec. 16: 11,541/125
Dec. 15: 9,411/94
Dec. 14: 8,452/138
Dec. 13: 8,958/84
Dec. 12: 10,577/72
Dec. 11: 11,699/126
Dec. 10: 11,335/135
Dec. 9: 9,592/89
Dec. 8: 7,985/98
Dec. 7: 7,711/106

Florida COVID-19 Cases Down Sunday; Hospitalizations, Deaths Rise

The Department of Health said 8,401 people tested positive for the coronavirus since Saturday's report — the first day in five that the number of new cases in the state was less than 11,500.

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