FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida has again set a new record for COVID-19 cases reported in a single day, with the CDC saying Friday that the state added 27,584 to its tally.
Eight more deaths connected to COVID-19 were reported by the state to the CDC, raising the total to 43,640 fatalities since the start of the pandemic.
Florida’s case total is now at 3,179,493, the CDC data shows.
The Florida Department of Health’s own weekly COVID-19 report also came out later Friday and showed a third consecutive week with more than 150,000 new cases.
The 151,749 new cases from Aug. 20-26 were a slight increase from the 150,236 a week prior.
Of those, 26,475 new cases in the past week were among children under 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated.
The statewide new-case positivity rate dropped to 16.8%, according to the state, which is the lowest since mid-July. It had been 20.1% the previous week. (See the full report at the bottom of this article.)
The state’s COVID death toll increased by more than 900 in Thursday’s CDC data report, though those deaths didn’t all occur in the previous 24 hours and span back over weeks.
More than 26,000 new cases had been reported Wednesday, which was the previous daily high.
The 7-day moving average for new cases in Florida has remained over 21,000 for more than two weeks. The state is accounting for about 15% of the new cases nationally.
Florida leads the nation with 16,457 people hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Their metrics show that 85% of Florida’s overall hospital beds are occupied and 95% of the state’s ICU beds are filled.
The Florida Hospital Association notes that admissions are slowly coming down from the recent peak, however.
ℹ Florida COVID-19 Update for August 27, 2021
— Florida Hospital Association (@FLHospitalAssn) August 27, 2021
🚨 Total Confirmed Hospitalizations: 16,163 pic.twitter.com/qvO1nxTmgK
The latest state data shows that 68% of eligible Floridians (ages 12 and older) have received at least one vaccine shot, two percentage points higher than last week.
Miami-Dade has 86% of its eligible population vaccinated; Broward has 77%; Monroe has 76%; Palm Beach County has 71%.
To find out where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine in South Florida, click here.
SEE THE STATE’S FULL WEEKLY COVID-19 REPORT BELOW: