COVID-19 fatalities and hospitalizations continue to mount in Florida

The Florida Department of Health reported 9,007 new cases to the Florida COVID-19 Dashboard, bringing the total positive test count to 470,386 cases as of the July 30th report. That is the sixth straight day Florida has reported under 10,000 new cases. 

The FDOH also reported 49,200 new tests from Thursday. The positivity rate was 10.57% of the total, according to the report. Since July 16th, the positivity rate has stayed below 15%, and most days has been between 10-13%.

6,843 people have died from the virus in Florida, an increase of 257, which is the highest report of COVID-19 related fatalities since the pandemic began. It is the fourth straight day that fatalities have broken a single day record.

When the FDOH reports a death in the daily update, the number encompasses several days, with actual days of death occurring weeks prior in some cases. The state maintains a chart of actual days of death on its COVID dashboard showing the deadliest days as July 17 with 134 fatalities, but also more than 100 deaths each day between July 7-23.