Coronavirus hot spot Florida reports 120 new deaths; toll passes 4,000

Florida, one of the nation’s coronavirus hot spots, reported another 8,935 cases Thursday for a total of 232,718, and 120 new fatalities — the most yet — to push the death toll past 4,000, to 4,009. The latest positivity rate, at 18.39%, and new hospitalizations are both also the highest on record.

COVID-19 is spreading across Florida faster than anywhere except Arizona.

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Central Florida now has 38,022 cases, up 1,494 from a day earlier. There are 401 new cases in Orange for a total of 15,595, 311 in Polk for 6,206, 154 in Seminole for 3,806, 164 in Osceola for 3,466, 164 in Volusia for 3,234, 173 in Brevard for 2,985, 94 in Lake for 2,181, and 33 in Sumter for 549. (See details on all Central Florida cases here).

Central Florida had 25 of the deaths reported Thursday, bringing the regional toll to 385.

The new fatalities include six each in Orange and Brevard counties, five each in Volusia and Polk, and one each in Osceola, Lake and Seminole.

In Orange, the victims were men ages 21, 40, 65, 70 and 83 and a woman age 61. In Brevard, they were men ages 59, 95 and 97 and women ages 79, 93 and 96. In Polk, they were men ages 71 and 76 and women ages 63, 83 and 92. In Volusia, women ages 47, 60 and 87 and men ages 78 and 86. In Lake, a man, 71. In Seminole, a 74-year-old man.

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One death of a 92-year-old woman was taken off Osceola County’s roster, but two more were added: a man, 83, and woman, 84, for a net increase of one.

Polk County, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in Central Florida with 127, followed by 69 in Orange, 67 in Volusia, 31 in Osceola, 26 each in Lake and Brevard, 21 in Seminole, and 18 in Sumter.

List of mobile coronavirus and antibody testing sites in Central Florida by county

South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for about 43% of cases with 99,719 total. That includes 3,733 new cases reported Thursday among Miami-Dade (55,961), Broward (25,102), and Palm Beach (18,656) counties.

South Florida’s reported deaths on Thursday rose by 41 for a total of 2,097, about 52% of the state’s total.

Statewide, the latest positivity rate made available by the Florida Department of Health, for Wednesday, was over 18%.

To date, 17,167 people have been hospitalized, Florida’s COVID-19 dashboard shows, 409 more than a day earlier — a record jump for one 24-hour period and the first time over 400 hospitalizations have been recorded in one day.

Florida is outpacing the field in new cases and hospitalizations, which have both been on a steady, upward climb. Experts say the double-barred trend could also cause Florida’s low death rate to rise in the coming weeks.

Over 2.3 million people have been tested in Florida, with 37,247 more tests — about 8,600 less than the July daily average — reported Thursday compared with the previous day. Over 1.3 million tests have been given since May 31.

A detailed breakdown of Florida’s coronavirus cases can be found here.

The virus has infected over 12 million people and has killed over 550,000 worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. In the U.S., over 3 million people have been infected and over 132,000 killed.

The U.S. has the most fatalities by far, followed by Brazil with over 67,000, the United Kingdom with over 44,000, Italy with over 34,000, Mexico with over 32,000, France with nearly 30,000, Spain with over 28,000 and India with over 21,000.

Within the U.S., New York has the most deaths with over 32,000, followed by New Jersey with over 15,000.

Federal officials will be taking a close look at the spike in case in Florida that began in June and has continued with no signs of slowing down, Dr. Deborah Birx, White House coronavirus response coordinator, said during a news conference Wednesday.

Thursday’s record number of reported deaths in Florida came as Walt Disney World annual passholders streamed through the gates of Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom as the theme park takes another step in its phased reopening.

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Local coronavirus victims: Their lives remembered

Pong Hui Chartier, known as “Connie” to customers at the dry cleaning business she operated in Ocoee, liked to do things her way. “She’s never been someone that rested. She was always go, go, go. If anyone was going to live to be 100, it would be my mother,” her daughter said. At 79, Pong Hui took only one medication — for her thyroid. But in early March, she was diagnosed with pneumonia. Weeks later, she died as a victim of coronavirus.

Pneumonia caused by COVID-19 killed both Pete and Eleanor Baker, retired snowbirds who were married nearly 62 years and spent winters in an RV in Central Florida.

Herman Boehm of Mount Dora, who enjoyed a life filled with adventures with his wife, died March 29 after contracting coronavirus. He was 86. Well into his 80s, Boehm enjoyed near-annual trips to Europe with his wife. Earlier in life, they spent a year cruising in the Bahamas on a sailboat. They went scuba diving and skiing. They danced the Argentine Tango.

See more Central Florida coronavirus obituaries here.

Symptoms? Do this

Are you feeling stressed or depressed from the COVID19 outbreak? There are resources available for you. You can contact the Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990 or visit https://www.samhsa.gov/disaster-preparedness

How to protect yourself

Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

Stay home when you are sick and avoid contact with people in poor health.

Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then dispose of the tissue.

Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing.

Clean and disinfect touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.

Follow these recommendations for using a face mask: The CDC now recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social-distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Follow these guidelines for using a cloth mask.

Questions? Here are numbers to call

The Florida Department of Health has set up a call center to answer questions about coronavirus. There’s a number for Orange County, too.

The Florida Department of Health’s number is 1-866-779-6121 and is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents may also email questions to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

In Orange County, the number to call is 407-723-5004; it’s available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For mental-health help, here is a list of resources.

For accurate, up-to-date information, visit

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov

The Florida Department of Health: floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19. For questions, call the COVID-19 call center at 866-779-6121 or email COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

A live map of COVID-19 cases around the globe: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

You want to be extra-prepared? Here’s how to stock up before a pandemic: ready.gov/pandemic

For the latest coronavirus updates, visit OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus and follow @orlandosentinel on Twitter.

See complete coverage at OrlandoSentinel.com/coronavirus.

This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. The Sun Sentinel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.