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News about coronavirus in Florida and around the world is constantly emerging. It's hard to stay on top of it all but Health News Florida can help. Our responsibility is to keep you informed, and to help discern what’s important for your family as you make what could be life-saving decisions.

COVID-19 cases and deaths continue to decline in Florida

Statewide, the positivity rate for new cases declined to 4.8% after hitting a peak of 19.8% the week of Aug. 13-19.

Figures released by the state Department of Health on Friday show 25,792 new cases of COVID-19 for the week ending Thursday. That's the lowest number reported since mid-July.

Statewide, the positivity rate for new cases declined to 4.8% after hitting a peak of 19.8% the week of Aug. 13-19.

For the week ending Thursday, 1,368 people statewide lost their lives from complications of COVID-19. That's the lowest number since mid-August.

The state health department recently switched from tallying deaths by the date they were verified to the date they occurred. As a result, it takes the state a while to process the information, so a single date's totals can grow days or even weeks later.

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 Oct. 1-7, 2021.

Cases: 3,601,755 positive cases, an increase of 25,792 from the previous week.

Vaccinations: 13,718,950 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 72,281. In all, 72% 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 4.8%, down from 6.6% the previous week.

Deaths: A total of 56,667 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 1,368 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.)

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

Steve Newborn is WUSF's assistant news director as well as a reporter and producer at WUSF covering environmental issues and politics in the Tampa Bay area.