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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.

Florida Coronavirus Cases Steadily Decreasing But So Has Testing

Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.
Florida Department of Health
/
The Florida Channel
Leon County Judge John Cooper on June 30, 2022, in a screen grab from The Florida Channel.

The state Department of Health reported on Friday 88 more deaths due to the coronavirus in Florida, bringing the cumulative total to 11,099.

Fourteen of the deaths occurred in the greater Tampa Bay region.

The state also reported that another 3,815 people tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 611,991.

In the greater Tampa Bay region, there were 521 new positive tests.

Cases in the state have been steadily decreasing -- the health department reported a total of 22,520 new cases for the seven-day period ending on Friday, compared to 30,001 last week and about 45,000 the week before.

The number of people being tested has also gone down. There were about 23,000 fewer tests completed this week compared to last.

On Thursday, there were 75,370 test results returned to the state and 5.73% of those tested for the first time were positive.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier this month that fewer people are going to testing sites.

As schools start re-opening around the state, public health experts warn cases could increase in the next couple weeks.

While some Florida school districts are reporting COVID-19 cases, others are not. WUSF is compiling reports that come in from official sources.

The National Education Association has alsojust launched a tracker of cases in public K-12 schools.

ABOUT THE DATA:

The Florida Department of Health produces a daily update around 11 a.m. with information about COVID-19 cases and deaths that were reported over the previous 24 hours. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state separately tracks cases and deaths that occurred on specific days on its dashboard and those totals are frequently updated.

Greater Tampa Bay region positive tests as of Friday, August 28:

  • Hillsborough: 36,574
  • Pinellas: 19,740
  • Polk: 16,692
  • Manatee: 10,340
  • Pasco: 7,949
  • Sarasota: 7,136
  • Hernando: 2,516

Florida COVID-19 daily total of positive tests/deaths for the last two weeks:

  • August 28: 3,815 / 88
  • August 27: 3,269 / 139
  • August 26: 3,220 / 155
  • August 25: 2,673 / 183
  • August 24: 2,258 / 72
  • August 23: 2,974 / 51
  • August 22: 4,311 / 107
  • August 21: 4,684 /118
  • August 20: 4,555 /117
  • August 19: 4,115 /174
  • August 18: 3,838 /219
  • August 17: 2,678 /87
  • August 16: 3,779 /107
  • August 15: 6,352 /204
  • August 10: 4,155/91
  • August 9: 6,229 / 77
  • August 8: 8,502 / 182


Originally founded in December 2006 as an independent grassroots publication dedicated to coverage of health issues in Florida, Health News Florida was acquired by WUSF Public Media in September 2012.