In its daily update, the Florida Department of Health on Thursday reported an increase of 5,557 COVID-19 cases for Oct. 21.
That brings the statewide total to 768,091 reported since March.
The state also reported another 57 Floridians had died after testing positive for coronavirus. That brings the total to 16,267 residents and 203 non-residents who have died since the pandemic began.
Those numbers do not necessarily mean those people died Wednesday but rather the state learned of their deaths and added the numbers to the report that day. The state's line-by-line report, which you can read here, lists coronavirus deaths by the date the people tested positive for the virus, not the date they passed.
As for new data on daily testing, the health department said 5.62 percent of 106,033 test results returned from labs were positive for coronavirus through Oct. 21.
The median age of Floridians testing positive is 38.
The positivity rate is one piece of data health experts analyze to determine how well an area is doing in combating the coronavirus and conducting tests. The World Health Organization has repeatedly said the percent positive should remain at 5 percent or lower for a 14-day span in order for further reopening to be recommended.
As for hospitalizations, 2,074 people in Florida were hospitalized with COVID-19 as their primary diagnosis as of Thursday morning. Of those, 509 patients were in the Tampa Bay area.
Statewide, a total of 47,765 people in Florida have been hospitalized with the virus at some point during the pandemic.
Here's a breakdown of new coronavirus cases reported to the state:
- June 21: 2,926
- June 22: 3,286
- June 23: 5,508
- June 24: 5,004
- June 25: 8,942
- June 26: 9,585
- June 27: 8,530
- June 28: 5,266
- June 29: 6,093
- June 30: 6,563
- July 1: 10,109
- July 2: 9,488
- July 3: 11,458
- July 4: 10,059
- July 5: 6,336
- July 6: 7,347
- July 7: 9,989
- July 8: 8,935
- July 9: 11,433
- July 10: 10,360
- July 11: 15,300
- July 12: 12,624
- July 13: 9,194
- July 14: 10,181
- July 15: 13,965
- July 16: 11,466
- July 17: 10,328
- July 18: 12,478
- July 19: 10,347
- July 20: 9,440
- July 21: 9,785
- July 22: 10,249
- July 23: 12,444
- July 24: 12,199
- July 25: 9,344
- July 26: 8,892
- July 27: 9,230
- July 28: 9,446
- July 29: 9,956
- July 30: 8,989
- July 31: 9,643
- August 1: 7,104
- August 2: 4,752
- August 3: 5,446
- August 4: 5,409
- August 5: 7,650
- August 6: 7,686
- August 7: 8,502
- August 8: 6,229
- August 9: 4,155
- August 10: 5,831
- August 11: 8,109
- August 12: 6,236
- August 13: 6,148
- August 14: 6,352
- August 15: 3,779
- August 16: 2,678
- August 17: 3,838
- August 18: 4,115
- August 19: 4,555
- August 20: 4,684
- August 21: 4,311
- August 22: 2,974
- August 23: 2,258
- August 24: 2,673
- August 25: 3,220
- August 26: 3,269
- August 27: 3,815
- August 28: 3,197
- August 29: 2,583
- August 30: 1,885
- August 31: 7,569 (Quest Diagnostics backlog)*
- September 1: 2,402
- September 2: 3,571
- September 3: 3,198
- September 4: 3,656
- September 5: 2,564
- September 6: 1,838
- September 7: 1,823
- September 8: 2,056
- September 9: 2,583
- September 10: 3,650
- September 11: 3,190
- September 12: 2,423
- September 13: 1,736
- September 14: 3,116
- September 15: 2,355
- September 16: 3,255
- September 17: 3,204
- September 18: 3,573
- September 19: 2,521
- September 20: 1,685
- September 21: 2,470
- September 22: 2,590
- September 23: 2,541
- September 24: 2,847
- September 25: 2,795
- September 26: 1,882
- September 27: 738
- September 28: 3,266
- September 29: 1,948
- September 30: 2,628
- October 1: 2,660
- October 2: 2,811
- October 3: 1,868
- October 4: 1,415
- October 5: 2,241
- October 6: 2,582
- October 7: 3,306
- October 8: 2,908
- October 9: No daily report due to Dept. of Health technical issue*
- October 10: 5,570
- October 11: 1,533
- October 12: 2,725
- October 13: 2,883
- October 14: 3,356
- October 15: 3,449
- October 16: 4,044
- October 17: 2,539
- October 18: 1,707
- October 19: 3,662
- October 20: 2,145
- October 21: 5,557
Hospitalizations and ICU bed availability
New cases have dropped significantly in recent months, but what about hospitalizations?
Tracking hospitalizations got easier on July 10 when the Agency for Health Care Administration began publishing a spreadsheet with the number of people currently checked-in for coronavirus-related complications in Florida. The data only includes people whose "primary diagnosis" was COVID-19.
As of Oct. 22, 2,074 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as their primary diagnosis statewide, and 509 of them were in the Tampa Bay area. Those numbers are frequently updated, and you can click here for the most recent data, which is also broken down by county.
Since the pandemic began, the state confirms a total of 47,765 residents were hospitalized at some point during their illness.
The Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) also updates total hospital bed and ICU availability by county.
Click here for a breakdown of adult and pediatric ICU bed availability by county. You can also check ICU availability by the hospital.
Hospitalizations around Tampa Bay and total staffed hospital bed capacity status:
**Data as of 11:00 a.m. Oct. 22, 2020.
Citrus:
- 19 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 63 of 308 total staffed hospital beds are available
DeSoto:
- 0 COVID-19 hospitalization
- 28 of 55 total staffed hospital beds are available
Hardee:
- 0 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 4 of 25 total staffed hospital beds are available
Hernando:
- 28 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 219 of 725 total staffed hospital beds are available
Highlands:
- 16 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 58 of 257 total staffed hospital beds are available
Hillsborough:
- 145 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 730 of 3,931 total staffed hospital beds are available
Manatee:
- 24 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 106 of 790 total staffed hospital beds are available
Pasco:
- 37 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 250 of 1,373 total staffed hospital beds are available
Pinellas:
- 119 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 755 of 3,095 total staffed hospital beds are available
Polk:
- 79 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 371 of 1,680 total staffed hospital beds are available
Sarasota:
- 42 COVID-19 hospitalizations
- 220 of 1,305 total staffed hospital beds are available
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