Florida adds more than 12,000 coronavirus cases, 156 deaths on Saturday

Florida added 12,311 coronavirus cases and 156 deaths on Saturday, bringing the total number of deaths to 25,561.

Since March, more than 1.6 million people have been infected with the virus in the state.

On average, the health department reported 11,390 infections and 169 deaths per day this week. It can take officials up to two weeks to confirm and report a coronavirus-related death, which means the number of deaths added does not necessarily reflect the number of people who died the day before.

Vaccinations: Florida vaccinated 1,328,175 people, according to Saturday’s report, with 37,364 people vaccinated on Friday. So far, 151,447 people have received the two doses needed for immunity, while 1,176,728 people have received only one dose.

In Hillsborough County, 59,485 people have been vaccinated; at Pinellas, 59,569; in Pasco, 23,464; in Manatee, 20,771; to Polk, 25,947; to Hernando, 11,372; and in Citrus, 9,998.

Hospitalizations: Florida hospitals are currently treating 6,698 patients for COVID-19, including 1,319 people in the Tampa Bay area, according to the Agency for Health Care Administration.

The health department reported 270 new admissions on Saturday, including 45 admissions locally.

About 20 percent of hospital beds and 16 percent of adult intensive care unit beds were available statewide. In Tampa Bay, about 20 percent of hospital beds and 15 percent of adult intensive care beds were open.

Positivity: Florida’s positivity rate was 11.1% on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University. The state’s daily positivity rate was 6.54% on Friday, according to health officials.

Before reopening, states should maintain a positivity rate of 5% or less for at least two weeks, according to the World Health Organization. A positivity rate of 5% or less indicates that the tests are widespread enough to capture mild, asymptomatic and negative cases.

Eight states, Guam and the District of Columbia currently have a positivity rate below 5 percent.

Local numbers: Tampa Bay added 2,289 cases and 51 deaths on Saturday.

Hillsborough County added 13 deaths, while Pasco County added 12. Pinellas County reported 11 deaths and Polk recorded eight deaths. Citrus County added 7 deaths. There have been no new deaths in Manatee County. Hernando County removed one death from its tally, meaning the death was not related to the coronavirus or the person who died was not a resident.

Polk and Hillsborough counties had average weekly positivity rates of 11 percent. Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties each had positivity rates of 10 percent. Pinellas and Manatee counties had positivity rates of around 8 percent.

According to the latest tally, Hillsborough has 96,338 cases and 1,242 deaths; Pinellas has 56,564 cases and 1,229 deaths; Polk has 47,795 cases and 935 deaths; The manatee has 27,224 cases and 491 deaths; Pasco has 28,076 cases and 500 deaths; Hernando has 9,434 cases and 331 deaths; and Citrus has 8,236 cases and 332 deaths.

How fast is the number of COVID-19 cases in Florida increasing?

Is Florida’s Coronavirus Outbreak Still Growing?

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