Volusia surpasses 12,000 COVID-19 cases; Flagler nears 2,000 cases; 3,663 new cases in FL

Florida reported 3,663 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, part of an increasing trend this past week that has health officials worried about a resurgence. 

On Tuesday, Volusia County surpassed 12,000 coronavirus cases while Flagler County came just shy of 2,000. 

Dr. Asal Johnson, epidemiologist and professor at Stetson University, is concerned about a second outbreak because of the upcoming cold and flu season. 

"The cold season is coming and as we see, it is bringing more cases to European countries and also colder parts of the U.S.," Johnson said. "At the same time, Florida has fully opened, and the holiday season is approaching. This means more movements into and out of state which will result in more cases."

Florida now has a total of 760,389 coronavirus cases. Of those, 750,739 are Florida residents and 9,650 are non-residents.

On Saturday, the state reported its highest single-day increase in coronavirus cases this month with 4,044. Tuesday marks the fifth time in October that daily new cases exceeded 3,000.

With the full reopening of the state, Johnson is worried that residents and visitors will let their guard down when it comes to safety precautions. 

"The governor (Ron DeSantis) has said no one can be fined for not following mask mandates, for example," Johnson said. "This may create a false sense of safety where in actuality we are still in danger, perhaps more than what we were during the April shut-downs."

The Florida Department of Health announced 84 new coronavirus deaths statewide Tuesday, bringing the state's death toll to 16,105.

So far, 203 non-residents have died from the virus; they are not included in the state's total death number. 

Three deaths were announced in Volusia County, bringing its total to 310. No new deaths were announced in Flagler County, leaving the total at 37.

The daily positivity rate, calculated by using the total number of people tested for the virus and the total number of people who have tested positive, was 6.17% Tuesday, the last time it was updated.

The overall positivity rate statewide was 13.17% Tuesday, which exceeds the 10% target set nationwide to safely begin a phased re-opening.

As of Tuesday, 47,352 residents have been hospitalized with COVID-19 and 5,775,214 have been tested for the virus.

"All in all, I believe we are heading toward another peak and I find it very unfortunate that the governor prefers to pretend the old normal has returned," Johnson said. "It has not and we still need to continue what we were doing. In the very least, we need to get our flu shots and wear our masks when in public."

Volusia County

New deaths: 3

Total deaths: 310

Number of deaths reported in October: 57

Total deaths of residents or staff of long-term care facilities: 160

New cases: 62

Total cases: 12,038

Number of new cases in October: 1,172

Total number of hospitalizations: 921

Number of current hospitalizations: 53

Daily positivity rate: 3.25%

Overall positivity rate: 11.51%

Flagler County 

New deaths: 0

Total deaths: 37

Number of deaths reported in October: 11

Total deaths of residents or staff of long-term care facilities: 3

New cases: 22

Total cases: 1,993

Number of new cases in October: 280

Total number of hospitalizations: 161

Number of current hospitalizations: 10

Daily positivity rate: 11.36%

Overall positivity rate: 8.86%