Over the previous week, Florida passed 38,000 deaths related to COVID-19 while the number new cases jumped amid concerns about the highly contagious delta variant.
The state Department of Health's weekly report for July 2-8 showed a total of 2,361,360 cases after an increase of 23,747. A week earlier, ending July 1, new cases increased by 15,684. Over the three previous weeks, new cases went from 10,095 to 11,454, the state reported.
Over the past two weeks, the positivity rate of tests went from 3.8% to 5.2%, then to 7.8% in the more recent report.
Of note, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and analyzed by NPR, the state averaged 2,241 new cases a day over the past week. That’s up 42% from a week before and 55% two weeks before that.
According to the most recent figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the delta variant made up an estimated 13.2% of the cases in Florida over a four-week period ending June 19. That's a significant increase from the CDC estimate two week before.
The delta variant, first identified in India, made up 51.4% of the new cases nationally over a two-week period ending July 3, the CDC said.
Meantime, Florida tracked the deaths of 172 patients with COVID-19 since the July 2 data, for total of 38,157.
Each week, the Florida Department of Health will provide updates on the number of coronavirus cases, changes in positivity rate, vaccinations, and other statewide and county-by-county data.
Following is a summary from July 2-July 8, 2021.
UPDATE: Weekly Situation Report From The Florida Department Of Health
Cases: 2,361,360 total positive cases, an increase of 23,697 from the previous week, according to state-provided figures. It's the largest one-week gain for the state since early May.
Vaccinations: 11,138,986 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 114,008. In all, 58% of Florida’s population has received a vaccine.
Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 7.8%, up from 5.2% the previous week. In the greater Tampa Bay region, counties posted increases of between 2.4 and 3.8%. Hernando County has the highest positivity rate of 9.2%, up 3.4% from last week.
Deaths: A total of 38,157 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 172 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.)
(July 2 - July 8, 2021)
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.
WMFE's Danielle Prieur contributed to this report.
Copyright 2021 WUSF Public Media - WUSF 89.7
