What to Know
- Florida set a record high in daily reported COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row Friday
- With 1,902 new cases, the state's total rose to 70,971, according to the Florida Department of Health
- Another 29 new deaths related to the virus were confirmed, bringing the state's total to 2,877
Florida's number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by more than 1,900 Friday, the second day in a row that the state reported a daily high in reported cases.
With 1,902 new COVID-19 cases, the state's total rose to 70,971, according to figures released by the Florida Department of Health. The state had reported 1,698 new cases on Thursday.
Another 29 new deaths related to the virus were confirmed, bringing the state's total to 2,877.
CORONAVIRUS LATEST
Miami-Dade County's case total rose to 20,872, out of 222,778 tested, with the positive rate staying at around 9.4%. The county's virus-related deaths rose to 809.
In Broward County, there were 8,589 COVID-19 cases reported out of 136,511 tested, or about 6.3% positive. The county had 350 virus-related deaths.
Palm Beach County had 8,209 cases and 416 deaths. Monroe County had 121 cases and 4 reported deaths
Statewide, more than 1,336,800 people have been tested for COVID-19, with the percent positive remaining around 5.3%. More than 11,700 hospitalizations for COVID-19 have been reported in Florida to-date.
At a news conference in Coral gables Friday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the recent increase in numbers had more to do with widespread testing and outbreaks among agriculture workers rather than the state's reopening, which began early last month.
DeSantis also said testing has expanded to include people who are asymptomatic and under age 65, and said three times as many tests are being done now compared with at the end of March.
"I think it's important for people to understand who is being tested now compared to who was being tested in March and early April," DeSantis said.
DeSantis said that since Memorial Day weekend, COVID-19 hospitalizations have been down about 13% in Miami-Dade and about 50% in Duval County.
