More than 2,000 patients with COVID are in Florida hospitals

The number of Florida hospital inpatients with COVID-19 has topped 2,000 amid a steady increase in infections in the state.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted data Monday showing that 2,018 inpatients had COVID-19, up from 1,941 in a Friday count. The new data also showed that 158 COVID-19 patients were in intensive-care units, down from 168 on Friday.

Meantime, Florida saw a jump in COVID-19 cases over the past week, while reported deaths of Florida residents during the pandemic climbed to more than 74,300.

A report issued Friday by the Florida Department of Health said the state had a reported 60,204 new COVID-19 cases during the week of May 13 to Thursday. That was up from 39,374 new cases the previous week and continued a steady increase during the past two months.

For example, the state reported 8,040 cases during the week that started March 11. The increases have come as variants of the coronavirus have developed and spread.

While Florida in recent weeks has seen increases in overall numbers of COVID-19 cases, the numbers remain far lower than early in the year, when the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus swept across the state.

The Department of Health report said 74,330 Florida residents had died of COVID-19 as of a Thursday count. That was up from 74,060 deaths in a report issued two weeks ago. Because of lags in reporting, it is not clear when the additional deaths occurred.

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