TAMPA (WFLA) — Florida health officials recorded about 5,200 new cases of coronavirus on Monday as the state comes down from the highest weekend total since the start of the pandemic.
The 5,266 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Monday bring the state total to 146,341. A total of 3,447 Florida residents have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. There have been 14,354 Floridians hospitalized.
The Florida Department of Health reported a drop in testing on Sunday but a rise in percent positivity among new cases.
The smaller testing size could be due to fewer tests being administered on weekend days.
8 On Your Side has also repeatedly heard from viewers who have struggled to get access to coronavirus tests throughout the bay area. It’s an issue we brought to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ attention when he visited Tampa last week. DeSantis told us capacity would be expanded at testing sites and that the state would help if needed.
The percent positivity for new cases — the number of people who tested positive for the first time divided by all the people tested that day — was 13.67% on Sunday.
The total percent of positive cases on Sunday was 15.71%. The state reported a total of 35,086 negative test results and 6,540 positive results.
The total percent positive includes people who have been tested multiple times for coronavirus, but a person is only counted once for each day their result is received by the state.
Florida’s Department of Health has also been tracking the median age of positive cases each day. On Sunday, the median age was 37 – a slight increase from the number reported throughout the week.
But the state report released Monday shows Floridians in the 25 – 34 age range still account for the largest percentage of cases. A total of 28,940 people in that age group have tested positive, which is 20% of the state’s total. Of those cases, 852 people have been hospitalized and 20 have died.
Here is the county-by-county breakdown across Tampa Bay as of Sunday:
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY
Total Cases: 10,237
Deaths: 135
Hospitalizations: 609
PINELLAS COUNTY
Total Cases: 6,187
Deaths: 154
Hospitalizations: 641
SARASOTA COUNTY
Total Cases: 1,415
Deaths: 96
Hospitalizations: 201
MANATEE COUNTY
Total Cases: 2,792
Deaths: 130
Hospitalizations: 262
PASCO COUNTY
Total Cases: 1,895
Deaths: 17
Hospitalizations: 129
POLK COUNTY
Total Cases: 3,665
Deaths: 93
Hospitalizations: 458
HERNANDO COUNTY
Total Cases: 354
Deaths: 5
Hospitalizations: 32
HIGHLANDS COUNTY
Total Cases: 342
Deaths: 11
Hospitalizations: 58
CITRUS COUNTY
Total Cases: 284
Deaths: 13
Hospitalizations: 38
HARDEE COUNTY
Total Cases: 421
Deaths: 3
Hospitalizations: 37
For more information on coronavirus in Florida, visit the live DOH Dashboard here.
LATEST ON THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: