Florida reports 1,064 more COVID-19 deaths and 46,105 new cases

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida’s COVID-19 death toll has risen by 1,064 since Friday, according to the latest data from the CDC posted Monday.

Those fatalities didn’t all happen over the weekend — many of the deaths are backlogged and go back weeks — but they reflect the toll this summer surge has had in the state.

More than 6,600 people died with COVID-19 in Florida in August, an average of more than 213 people per day, and there may still be more August fatalities to be added. Already it is the deadliest month of the pandemic in the state.

Since the start of the outbreak, the state has confirmed 3,354,836 COVID-19 cases and 46,973 deaths connected to the virus.

Florida reported 46,105 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, the latest CDC metrics show.

These numbers reported by the CDC come from the Florida Department of Health, which only releases a public report with its COVID-19 data weekly on Fridays.

Last month, the state health department switched from tallying deaths by the day they were verified to now tracking them by the date a person passed away. The deaths typically take several days to be processed, so a single date’s totals can slowly grow days later and the day-by-day increases appear smaller at first.

While the state has had some large batches of deaths reported recently — including a record 1,338 added Thursday — the state’s new cases and positivity rate have been trending downward.

After three consecutive weeks with more than150,000 new cases, Florida added 129,240 from Aug. 27-Sept. 2. That’s the fewest since the week that began July 23.

As of Friday, the state’s new-case positivity rate had dropped to 15.2%, the lowest since mid-July.

Hospitalizations are also dropping.

The Florida Hospital Association said there were 13,567 patients admitted with COVID-19 across the state on Sunday, a significant decrease from the recent peak propelled by the delta variant.

To find out where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine in South Florida, click here.