Florida Posts Record 132 Daily Covid-19 Deaths; Cases Slow

(Bloomberg) -- Covid-19 deaths among Florida residents rose by a record 132, another sign that the virus’s resurgence across the Sun Belt is starting to have severe consequences.

The fatalities rose 3.1% to 4,409 cumulatively, according to a report Tuesday, which includes data through Monday. On a rolling seven-day basis, Florida has reported 568 new coronavirus fatalities, also a record.

Florida reported 291,629 Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, up 3.3% from a day earlier, compared with an average increase of 4.6% in the previous seven days. Cumulative hospitalizations of Florida residents rose by 383, or 2.1%, to 18,881. On a rolling seven-day basis, hospitalizations have totaled 2,456, another record.

The new rate of people testing positive for the first time climbed to 15% for Monday, from 11.5% on Sunday. Governor Ron DeSantis has focused on the positivity rate instead of overall cases, and he told reporters Monday that he thought the rate had stabilized after several days below 13%.

The increase in deaths doesn’t necessarily imply that the patients died the previous day.

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