Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
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.

Florida's weekly report shows nearly 13,000 new COVID cases and a 2.6% positivity rate

Federal data released Thursday showed 1,389 coronavirus patients hospitalized in Florida, slightly up from 1,319 a week earlier. Of those, 245 were in intensive care.

Florida added 12,984 cases of COVID-19 and deaths related to the virus incrased by 325, to 62,026, according to weekly data released Friday by the state Department of Health.

Nearly 75 percent of the deaths, or 46,272, involved people ages 65 or older. Another 5,104 deaths involved people ages 60 to 64. By comparison, people under age 30 accounted for 464 deaths.

The health department reported 122,513 more Floridians were vaccinated for COVID in the week ending Thursday.

More than 185,000 Florida children — about 11 percent of the almost 1.7 million 5- to 11-year-olds — have received a shot since the Pfizer vaccine was approved for them in November.

Data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services showed that 1,389 patients with COVID hospitalized in Florida, up from 1,319 a week earlier. Of those, 245 were in intensive care, compared to 239 the previous week.

The following is a summary from Dec..2-9, 2021.

Cases: 3,710,507 positive cases, an increase of 12,984 from the previous week.

Vaccinations: 14,540,602 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 122,513. In all, 70% of Florida’s population over the age of five has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 2.6%, 0.1% higher than the previous week, but the same as the week before that.

Deaths: A total of 62,026 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 325 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.)
* - Vaccination rate now includes children ages 5-11.

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.