Florida recorded 186 new coronavirus deaths today, the state’s largest daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the Florida Department of Health, Florida coronavirus deaths now total 6,240, with 6,117 of which being Florida residents and the other 123 coming from non-residents.
The previous largest daily death increase was 173 deaths on July 23.
The number of known cases statewide rose by 9,230 since Monday morning, bringing Florida’s cases to a total of 441,977, which is well past the state of New York’s case total of 417,056 and just below California’s total of 463,458.
Florida now has a 19.07% testing positivity rate, as recorded by Johns Hopkins University. Recently surpassing Alabama, this leaves Florida with the third highest positivity rate among U.S. states, trailing behind Mississippi and Arizona.
Locally, Pinellas County reported 17 new deaths, while Polk County added 16, and Hillsborough County added 12 new deaths.
Hillsborough leads the Bay area in COVID-19 cases with a 27,823 total, followed by Pinellas County with 15,541 cases, Polk County with 11,893 cases and Manatee County with 8,090 cases, according to the Florida Department of Health’s most recent data.
On Monday, Pinellas County Commission Chair Pat Gerard sent a letter to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, pleading with him for help in sending remdesivir, an experimental coronavirus drug, to Pinellas County. She said in her letter the county had 67 COVID-19 patients on ventilators and 106 in intensive care units.
DeSantis has continually chosen not to follow recommendations from scientific evidence and federal guidelines in mandating a statewide mask order, even as Florida has been deemed a global coronavirus epicenter. Amid many of the governor’s press conferences being met with concerned protesters, The Washington Post recently published a report calling the governor out for failing to implement an effective plan and criticized his following of Trump over scientists.
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This article appears in Jul 23-29, 2020.