TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Sunday's report from the Florida Department of Health showed the state received another 10,059 positive COVID-19 test results back from labs on July 4, pushing its overall total number of confirmed cases above 200,000.
The state has now had more confirmed cases than Germany, which has 83.02 million residents -- more than 3.86 times Florida's population.
The new daily number follows Saturday's report of 11,458 new cases for July 3, the highest single-day total for positive test results returned in Florida. Saturday's report also coincided with the most total test results being submitted so far. According to state data, 85,086 test results were received from labs on July 3.
Sunday's report showed 69,993 test results were turned in on July 4. Of those 69,993 test results, the state said 15.04 percent were positive.
Based on the July 4 data, the state said another 29 Florida residents had died from coronavirus.
Here's a breakdown of the new coronavirus cases reported to the state by day:
- 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
We should note that if you look at the state's dashboard for new coronavirus cases, some of the numbers look different than ours -- at least for daily new cases. That's because the state is only tracking Florida residents, not total cases in Florida, on its dashboard. It only tracks the latter within its daily report. And, the chart on the state's website is regularly being revised to say a case happened on one day instead of another.
For consistency, we've decided to track total cases reported each day. Those totals don't change, so it's our most consistent way of measuring trends, even if the state moves data around on its dashboard. For transparency's sake, here's a direct link to the state's data if you'd like to examine Florida's numbers for yourself.
Hospitalizations
It is difficult to track precisely how many people are hospitalized with COVID-19 at any given point in Florida. Since the pandemic began, the state confirms a total of 15,895 residents have been hospitalized. But, that count includes anyone who was hospitalized at any point during their illness. It does not reflect the number of people currently in the hospital.
The Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) does update hospital bed and ICU availability by county.
Some counties have taken steps to illustrate that information. For example, Pinellas County offers a daily look at coronavirus hospitalizations in the area.
Still, the concern with COVID-19 is that having any number of cases puts a strain on the healthcare system. While most counties don't say exactly how many of their full beds are being occupied by coronavirus patients at a given moment, we can use total ICU bed occupancy as an indicator of how full hospitals are right now.
To that end, as of Sunday morning in Florida, 21.23 percent of the state's 6,063 adult ICU beds were available compared with 35.41 percent of the state's 579 total pediatric ICU beds. That's according to the state's Agency for Health Care Administration.
In total, based on the data below, 251 of the Tampa Bay area's 1,346 adult ICU beds were open, as of Saturday morning. That means about 18.6 percent were available.
Around the Tampa Bay area, here is the breakdown:
Citrus: 9 of 35 adult ICU beds available
DeSoto: 1 of 8 adult ICU beds available
Hardee: No ICU data
Hernando: 19 of 63 adult ICU beds available
Highlands: 15 of 36 adult ICU beds available
Hillsborough: 69 of 409 adult ICU beds available
Manatee: 29 of 91 adult ICU beds available
Pasco: 19 of 130 adult ICU beds available
Pinellas: 41 of 305 adult ICU beds available
Polk: 13 of 151 adult ICU beds available
Sarasota: 36 of 112 adult ICU beds available
**Editor's Note: The state doesn't offer ICU availability for Hardee County. But, for some perspective: as of Sunday morning, two of the county's 25 hospital beds were available for an 8 percent availability.
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