Florida added 217 deaths Wednesday, surpassing Tuesday’s record and bringing the total number of deaths statewide to 6,457.
According to the Department of Health, the state also logged 9,446 new coronavirus infections, which brings the total number of cases since March to 451,423.
Additionally, hospitalizations increased by 587, which is now the second-highest increase ever reported, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Locally, 1,172 coronavirus cases were confirmed on Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, as well as 55 deaths. Manatee and Polk County accounted for the most deaths, both adding 15. Hillsborough County added 13 new deaths; Hernando and Citrus each added six.
Despite the rising cases and deaths, President Donald Trump is heading to Tampa on Friday to raise money for his reelection campaign, spawning protests. Moreover, Gov. Ron DeSantis continues to disavow statistics indicating that Florida is not improving.
“I think when you see those reports, those are probably reflective of infections and hospitalizations that have happened in the past,” DeSantis said at a Tuesday press conference. “So it’s more of a lagging indicator, whereas I think the ED (emergency department) visits and some of the hospital visits are more of a leading indicator in terms of where things are trending.”
The pandemic is also wreaking havoc on Florida’s juvenile justice system. The number of youths in Florida’s juvenile justice system who have tested positive for coronavirus has increased by more than 100 during the past week and is up about 90% over the past two weeks, according to the numbers released by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice.
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