Florida Passes 2 Million COVID-19 Cases As Hospitalizations Continue Decline

A day after Florida reported its2 millionth case of COVID-19, state officials said another 3,987 people tested positive for coronavirus since Saturday's report.

That brings the total number of cases in the state to 2,008,349.

The Florida Department of Health also recorded the deaths of 32 people from COVID-related complications since Saturday, 33,369 overall.

Hospitalizations declined for the fifth straight day, according to reports from the Agency for Health Care Administration. The state reported 2,823 people are currently hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, down 30 from Saturday. It's the lowest level in the state since 2,779 people were hospitalized on Nov. 8, 2020.

The state’s positivity rate on 76,260 tests returned Saturday was 6.23% — the highest level in six days. However, the number of tests was about 26,000 fewer than the daily average for the last two weeks.

Almost 4.91 million people have received a coronavirus vaccine in the state, with more than 55% considered fully vaccinated, meaning they either had both doses of a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine, or a single dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

Florida is the third state to bypass two million cases, following California, with more than 3.6 million cases as of Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University, and Texas with almost 2.75 million cases.

Florida recorded its 1 millionth case on Dec. 1, 2020, nine months after the first case was reported in the state. It reached the 2 million mark a little over 3 1/2 months after that.

As of Saturday, Florida has reported the fourth most deaths from complications related to COVID-19 in the U.S. with 32,713, behind California (57,350 deaths), New York (49,401), and Texas (47,198).

State Totals (as of Sunday, March 21)

• Positive Tests – 2,008,349
• Deaths – 33,369

Daily Changes:

• State: Positive Tests – 3,987 | Deaths – 32
• Greater Tampa Bay region: Positive Tests – 810 | Deaths – 3

Daily Testing (statewide):

• Tests Received – 76,260 | Positivity Rate – 6.23%

ABOUT THE DATA: The Florida Department of Health produces a daily updatearound 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:

• March 21: 3,987/32
• March 20: 5,105/64
• March 19: 5,140/54
• March 18: 5,093/99
• March 17: 4,599/59
• March 16: 4,791/102
• March 15: 2,826/99
• March 14: 3,699/31
• March 13: 5,244/85
• March 12: 5,214/105
• March 11: 5,065/96
• March 10: 4,853/62
• March 9: 4,426/132
• March 8: 3,312/83

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