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Orlando Sentinel
Orlando Sentinel
National
Nelly Ontiveros

COVID-19 in Florida: Daily test positivity rate down to 3.55%

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida added 3,406 coronavirus cases Saturday to bring the cumulative total to 2,308,266. With 22 more fatalities, 36,463 Florida residents are now dead.

Florida’s new case rate shows a drop to 96 new infections per 100,000 people from May 13 to 19, according to the latest White House report.

Each report includes deaths from several previous days, as it can take two weeks or more for fatalities to be logged.

As of Saturday’s report, the latest seven-day case count is 18,744, compared with 22,947 in the previous seven days. The latest seven-day death toll is 407, compared with 356 one week earlier.

To date, 95,734 people have been hospitalized in Florida, according to the state’s report, which includes 116 newly reported hospitalizations since Friday’s update.

Across the state, 2,190 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Saturday at 1:11 p.m. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day.

Statewide, 9,963,783 people have received at least one vaccination shot including 7,923,900 who have completed their shot regimens. The count is a snapshot through Friday, based on the report released Saturday.

Of those who have received at least the first dose, 3,806,115 are over the age of 65.

To date, 13,204,501 people have been tested in Florida, 32,255 more than Friday’s total.

Statewide, the latest positivity rate reported Saturday for Friday’s test results by the Florida Department of Health was 3.55%, but that’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive. For all tests, including retests, the positivity rate was 4.69%.

Central Florida added 703 cases Saturday for a total of 419,965: 243 more in Orange for 141,618; 118 more in Polk for 70,419; 70 in Osceola for 45,733; 62 in Volusia for 44,440; 75 in Brevard for 42,640; 73 in Seminole for 35,000; 54 in Lake for 30,676; and 8 in Sumter for 9,439.

There were three new deaths across all eight Central Florida counties bringing the region’s toll to 6,329. Polk County has the most coronavirus fatalities in the region with 1,362, followed by 1,292 in Orange, 889 in Brevard, 832 in Volusia, 646 in Lake, 520 in Osceola, 509 in Seminole and 279 in Sumter.

The virus has infected over 165 million people and has killed over 3.4 million worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. Nationwide, over 33 million people have been infected and over 588,000 have died.

Florida ranks third in the nation in known virus infections, surpassing New York. California leads with 3.6 million, followed by Texas with 2.9 million, according to the White House coronavirus report dated Tuesday.

Symptoms? Do this

Are you feeling stressed or depressed from the COVID-19 outbreak? There are resources available for you. You can contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit https://www.samhsa.gov/disaster-preparedness.

How to protect yourself

— Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

— Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with people in poor health.

— Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

— Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.

— Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

— Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Questions? Here are numbers to call

The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. The number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Residents may also email questions to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

For accurate, up-to-date information, visit

— The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov

— The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

— A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html.

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