The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported an additional 32,869 coronavirus cases in Florida on Thursday.
It's the highest number of cases reported on one day since early September. However, the surging cases can't all be attributed to a single day because the CDC backlogs cases and deaths for the state on Mondays and Thursdays, which can lead to inflated numbers.
Still, the increasing case levels show the impact of the omicron variant after reported cases had been averaging fewer than 2,000 a day at the beginning of the month.
It also comes after the state reported more than 20,000 additional cases on Wednesday.
University of Florida researchers predict that Florida's daily case count could reach over 40,000 cases during the new variant's surge.
Florida's cumulative case count now stands at 3,832,530.
The state also reported another 83 deaths to the CDC on Thursday, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 to 62,347.
Though the cases and deaths were recorded in the last few days, they may have occurred in recent weeks or months.
Hospitalizations in Florida increased by 82 to 1,931, about 291 of whom were in intensive care beds.
That's well below the height of about 17,000 hospitalizations in mid-August during the summer surge.
But public health experts warn that hospitalizations and deaths typically increase about two weeks after a surge in cases.
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