COVID-19 cases hit the highest daily and weekly levels since September

With concerns over the omicron variant growing as the holidays approach, Florida reported its highest daily and weekly case numbers since September.

The Florida Department of Health added 29,568 new cases of coronavirus in the week ending Thursday, bringing the state's total to 3,739,348.

That's more than double the 13,530 reported a week earlier, and the highest total since the week ending Sept. 30 (37,772).

The positivity rate for the week also more than doubled from 2.6% last week to 5.4% this week.

In addition, the Department of Health reported 8,785 people tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday. It's the highest daily number since Sept. 21 (10,073).

According to data released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1,556 patients in Florida were hospitalized with COVID-19 during the past week, up from 1,389 the previous week. There were 278 COVID patients in intensive care, 33 more than the previous week.

While the numbers have increased, they remain significantly lower than hospitalization levels during the summer, when the delta variant spread across Florida.

The state's COVID-19 death toll stands at 62,220, up 194 from a week earlier. That's compared to 325 new deaths recorded last week.

The health department reported 91,841 more Floridians were vaccinated this week, down from 104,995 a week ago.

More than 3.7 million of the almost 14.7 million Floridians who have received a COVID-19 vaccine have also received a booster dose.

More than 208,000 Florida children — about 12 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.

The following is a summary from Dec. 9 - Dec. 16, 2021.

Cases: 3,739,348 positive cases, an increase of 29,568 from the previous week.

Vaccinations: 14,647,710 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 91,841. In all, 70% of Florida’s population over the age of five has received at least one dose of vaccine — unchanged from last week.

Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 5.4%, up from 2.6% the previous week.

Deaths: A total of 62,220 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 194 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.

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