COVID-19 Deaths Among Florida Residents Surpass 23,000

With another 159 deaths reported Monday, the COVID-19 death toll for Florida residents has exceeded 23,000, according to numbers released by the state Department of Health.

A report issued by the department said 23,071 Florida residents and 353 non-Florida residents had died in the state.

The pace of deaths and positive COVID-19 cases has increased significantly in recent months. On Oct. 11, for example, Florida reported 15,364 resident deaths. That means Florida has seen about a 50 percent increase in resident deaths over the past three months.

Florida added 11,575 new COVID-19 cases, according to Monday's report.

The state is averaging 15,939 new cases per day in the last week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University analyzed by NPR. That’s a 19% increase over the week prior, and a 58% increase from two weeks ago.

Florida’s record for new coronvirus cases was set on Jan. 6, with 19,400.

As of Monday morning, 7,650 patients were in the hospital with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19. To look up capacity at your local hospital, check this NPR tool:

Increasing hospitalizations for COVID-19 were reported in every county across the greater Tampa Bay region on Monday. Across the region, 34 more people were hospitalized since Sunday’s report. The highest number of new hospitalizations was in Pinellas County, with 12.

Hillsborough County saw a large increase in deaths compared to Sunday, with 21 new fatalities linked to COVID-19. That’s the highest daily increase since Oct. 30 when 22 deaths were reported. The most fatalities in a day for Hillsborough was 40, reported on July 16.

The Florida Department of Health says deaths reported on a given day may have happened days or weeks earlier.

State Totals (as of Monday, Jan. 11):

· Positive Tests – 1,488,586

· Deaths – 23,420

Daily Changes:

· State: Positive Tests – 11,575 | Deaths – 159

Greater Tampa Bay Region:

· Positive Tests – 2,434 | Deaths – 32

Daily Testing (statewide):

· Tests Received – 128,795 | Positivity Rate – 10.6%

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.

Florida COVID-19 daily total of positive tests/deaths for the last two weeks:

· Jan. 11: 11,575/ 159

· Jan. 10: 12,313/ 111

· Jan. 9: 15,445/139

· Jan. 8: 19,530/194

· Jan 7: 19,816/170

· Jan 6: 17,783/132

· Jan. 5: 15,431/100

· Jan. 4: 11,256/105

· Jan. 3: 10,603/100

· Jan. 2: 31,518/220*

· Jan. 1: No data reported

· Dec. 31: 17,192/133

· Dec. 30: 13,871/139

· Dec. 29: 12,075/105

* Totals from Jan. 2 include information from two days, because the Florida Department of Health did not release a report on New Year’s Day.

News Service of Florida and Health News Florida's Kerry Sheridan (WUSF) and Matthew Peddie (WMFE) contributed to this report.

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