Florida adds nearly 60,000 more COVID cases

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FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida reported 59,487 new COVID-19 infections from Tuesday, according to the latest CDC data posted Wednesday afternoon.

The state had added 51,644 cases from Monday and 85,635 over the weekend, the federal data shows.

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Since the start of the pandemic, Florida has logged at least 4,419,665 infections, though that number would not include at-home test results that aren’t reported to the state’s health department.

The Florida Hospital Association reports that 7,305 people are admitted across the state with COVID-19 on Wednesday, up from 6,623 just 24 hours earlier.

Florida had by far its most new cases of the entire pandemic in the final week of 2021, reporting 298,455 from Dec. 24-30. That equates to an average of more than 42,000 per day — twice what the state reported at the peak of the delta-driven summer surge in August.

And the numbers have only gone up since, with the state averaging 55,336 new cases over the past seven days.

A look at COVID-19 cases over time in Florida. (CDC graphic)

The now-dominant omicron variant is believed to not bring out as severe of symptoms for many people, plus more Floridians are now vaccinated, which infectious disease experts say has played a role in keeping hospitalizations lower than their peak in the summer.

Omicron, however, is spreading more rapidly.

Florida’s new-case positivity rate soared to 26.5% last week, a sharp increase from 13.9% the week prior and 5.3% the week before that.

For information on where you can get a COVID-19 vaccine or test in South Florida, click here.


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