Florida added 11,873 coronavirus cases, 217 deaths in the past week – Tampa Bay Times

Florida officials reported 11,873 coronavirus cases over the seven-day period from June 18 to June 24.

That brings the total number of cases up to 2,321,929 since the pandemics first two cases in Florida were reported on March 1, 2020, nearly 16 months ago.

The state added 217 deaths since the previous weeks report, bringing the total statewide number of deaths since the pandemic began to 37,772. It can take officials up to two weeks to confirm and report a coronavirus-related death.

The Florida Department of Health announced earlier this month ago that it would no longer release daily COVID-19 data. Instead, it is now releasing a weekly report every Friday, but has withheld some information that was publicly available before.

As of June 4, the state no longer reports non-resident vaccinations, coronavirus cases and fatalities. The Florida Department of Health has declined repeated requests to provide non-resident data to the Tampa Bay Times.

Florida is transitioning into the next phase of the COVID-19 response, and has shifted reporting to parallel this, the agency said in an email to the Times. Among reportable diseases monitored by the department, such as HIV and Hepatitis, it is not typical to calculate cases for non-Florida residents.

Florida is the only state that updates its coronavirus caseloads and data once a week. Although weekly reports can be more reliable than daily updates, experts warn that infrequent data updates may delay identification of emerging trends.

Vaccinations: Florida administered 281,042 vaccines in the past week, nearly 100,000 fewer doses than the week before. The number of first doses administered dropped to 116,089, the third consecutive week that first-dose vaccines have fallen.

So far 57 percent of Florida residents age 12 and up have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to the state. Thats a slight rise from 56 percent last week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 63.8 percent of Floridas adults age 18 and up have been vaccinated. President Joe Biden has set a goal of getting 70 percent of U.S. adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4, but the White House says the nation will likely fall short.

More than 83 percent of Floridians over the age of 65 and 73 percent of those ages 60 to 64 have been vaccinated, according to state data. Meanwhile, 33 percent of Floridians between the age of 12 and 30 have been vaccinated.

In Hillsborough County, 52 percent of residents age 12 and up have been vaccinated; in Pinellas, 56 percent; in Pasco, 53 percent; in Manatee, 55 percent; in Polk, 49 percent; in Hernando, 47 percent; and in Citrus, 50 percent.

Variants: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention June 19 estimate suggests the Delta variant accounts for 20 percent of new cases in the U.S., more than double the last projection on June 5.

Experts warn that the highly infectious strain may soon become the dominant variant in the nation. It accounted for 2.3 percent of the states COVID-19 cases as of June 5.

Positivity: Floridas positivity rate rose to 3.8 percent in the past week, up from 3.3 percent the week before.

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

In the Tampa Bay area, the positivity rate was 4.2 percent in Hillsborough, 3 percent in Pinellas, 4.4 percent in Polk, 3.3 percent in Manatee, 4.2 percent in Pasco, 4.4 percent in Hernando, and 3.9 percent in Citrus.

Hospitalizations: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 246 confirmed COVID-19 patients were admitted to Florida hospitals every day from June 17 to June 23, on average.

The federal agency no longer reports detailed hospitalization data by county and neither does the state.

Local numbers: Tampa Bay added 1,981 cases in the past week, bringing the total number of cases to 406,787.

As of Thursdays count, Hillsborough added 738 new cases, Pinellas had 347 cases, Polk had 402 cases, Manatee had 132 cases, Pasco had 235 cases, Hernando had 84 cases, and Citrus had 43 cases.

The state no longer reports deaths by county. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, Hillsborough, Pinellas, Polk, Manatee, Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties each recorded fewer than 10 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths in the past week. The federal agency does not report exact deaths by county when the count is under 10.

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Florida added 11,873 coronavirus cases, 217 deaths in the past week - Tampa Bay Times