Florida coronavirus infections top 700,000 as state reopens bars, restaurants

The Florida Department of Health posted 1,882 new coronavirus cases and 10 new virus fatalities on Sunday, as the state reopens bars, restaurants and other businesses under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive order issued Friday.

To date, 700,564 people have been infected statewide, and 14,032 Florida residents have died. With 170 non-resident deaths, the combined toll is 14,202.

Florida is third in the nation for COVID-19 infections behind California, which leads with over 807,000 confirmed infections, and Texas with over 754,000.

Cases and deaths

From Sunday to Sunday, Florida saw 16,810 new cases, 1,080 newly reported hospitalizations, and 736 newly reported deaths in state health department data.

In comparison, the week ending Sept. 20 saw 19,760 new cases, 1,156 newly reported hospitalizations, and 688 newly reported deaths.

This weekly report marks the third week with less than 20,000 new cases posted by the health department. Florida saw 12 straight weeks of over 20,000 new cases, with as many as 80,000 posted in the week ending July 19.

The health department hasn’t reported a daily increase above 10,000 infections since July 25. In the last month, the state hasn’t posted more than 5,000 cases per day since Aug. 15. The only exception is a bump of over 7,500 cases on Sept. 1, blamed on a data dump from Quest Diagnostics with test results dating back to April.

Weekly reported deaths have steadied. The state endured more than 1,000 weekly reported deaths for three consecutive weeks in early August, hitting a peak of 1,266 in the week ending Aug. 16.

It’s important to note that there is a lag time between all daily figures reported by the state, which could include cases that are weeks old. COVID-19 deaths, for example, are reported sometimes as much as a month or more after the actual day of death.

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Tests decline statewide

Over 5.2 million people have been tested in Florida, with 18,439 more tests reported Sunday compared with the previous day.

Over 158,000 people were tested in the past week. Florida saw a peak in testing with over 429,000 posted for the week ending July 19.

Testing continues to decline statewide to a daily average of about 23,600 so far in September. That’s down from about 32,000 daily tests on average in August and 54,400 a day in July.

Statewide, the latest positivity rate reported by the DOH was 4.08%, but that’s for new cases only and excludes anyone who previously tested positive. For all cases including retests of those previously infected, the latest positivity rate is 5.34%. (Read more: Florida’s hidden data skews COVID-19 test results)

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Central Florida on Sunday added 345 cases for a total of 110,602: 98 new cases in Orange for 39,973; 84 in Polk for 19,849; 43 in Osceola for 12,438; 26 in Volusia for 10,815; 26 in Seminole for 8,998; 41 in Brevard for 8,841; 22 in Lake for 7,466; and five in Sumter for 2,222. (See details on all Central Florida cases here).

Central Florida did not report any new deaths Sunday. The region’s toll stands at 2,115. Polk County, due to nursing-home outbreaks, has the most coronavirus fatalities in the region with 529, followed by 445 in Orange, 293 in Brevard, 239 in Volusia, 208 in Seminole, 189 in Lake, 145 in Osceola, and 67 in Sumter.

Central Florida accounts for nearly 16% of the cases statewide and 15% of the deaths.

South Florida, home to 29% of Florida’s population, accounts for about 42% of cases with 292,563 total. That includes 536 new cases reported Sunday among Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

South Florida did not report any new deaths Sunday. The region’s toll stands at 5,952, about 42% of the state’s total.

Hospitalizations

COVID-19 hospitalizations have been steadily falling from mid-July highs of over 8,000. Across the state, 2,100 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of about 10:30 a.m. Sunday. The state’s online tool updates several times throughout the day.

Orange County reported 113 patients hospitalized, Osceola with 64, Seminole with 31, and Lake with 30 as of about about 10:30 a.m. Sunday.

To date, 44,108 people have been hospitalized in Florida, the state’s COVID-19 dashboard shows. But those numbers could include cases that are weeks old.

The latest breakdown of Florida’s coronavirus cases can be found here, and county-by-county data can be found here.

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

Florida moves into “Phase 3”

On Friday, DeSantis officially lifted all remaining restrictions on bars and restaurants imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The order also bans local governments from closing businesses or penalizing people for not complying with local orders, such as mask requirements — leading to at least one Central Florida county being flooded with calls asking if people no longer have to wear one.

In the heat of the confusion, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings cautioned to residents that the pandemic is far from order. Dyer on Friday urged people to continue wearing masks and practice social distancing “irrespective of the governor’s order today.”

“During the last few months, our individual and collective actions have helped us reduce the spread of COVID-19 here in Orange County,” Dyer tweeted Saturday. “I encourage everyone to continue taking the pandemic precautions to protect yourself, your loved ones and every person in our community.”

But infections have plateaued in Orange County at a level that the state’s top health official here called manageable and a sign that locals are “learning to live” with the virus.

The nation and world at large

The virus has infected over 32 million people and has killed over 994,000 worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University & Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. Nationwide, over 7 million people have been infected and over 204,000 are dead.

Brazil has the second-most fatalities with over 141,000, India with over 94,000, Mexico with over 76,000, the United Kingdom with over 42,000, Italy with over 35,000, and Peru with over 32,000.

Within the U.S., New York has the most deaths with over 33,000, followed by New Jersey with over 16,000.

Since April, America has led the world by far in sheer numbers of confirmed infections and deaths. The U.S. has less than 5% of the globe’s population but more than 20% of the reported deaths.

Black and Hispanic people and American Indians have accounted for a disproportionate share of the deaths, underscoring the economic and health care disparities in the U.S.

Millions of Americans are counting on a COVID-19 vaccine to curb the pandemic and return life to normal. While one or more options could be available toward the end of this year or early next, the path to delivering vaccines to 330 million people remains unclear for the local health officials expected to carry out the work.

Many Americans have resisted wearing masks and social distancing, calling such precautions an overreaction or an infringement on their liberty. Public health experts say the problem has been compounded by confusing and inconsistent guidance from politicians and a patchwork quilt of approaches to containing the scourge by county, state and federal governments.

The actual number of cases around the world is believed to be much higher than reported — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the CDC — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.

Some of the worst-hit nations have been those whose leaders have downplayed the severity of COVID-19, undercut the advice of health experts and pushed unproven remedies.

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Local coronavirus victims: Their lives remembered

Juan Carlos Sosa has been described as “Juan in a million,” but for his family he is “Juan the one and only.” Whenever someone needed help, there he was, willing to assist, no matter the day or time. Now, he will no longer greet students with a big smile when they arrive at Celebration K-8 school and will never be able sing in the car with his daughter. Juan Carlos died on Aug. 30 at age 57. His family believes he was infected with coronavirus after he celebrated his birthday at the school where he was a custodian.

Deborah Denise Henson spent much of her adult life in pain — the result of a freakish accident that left her with plates and screws in her back. But you wouldn’t have known it from her smile. She survived a host of medical problems before succumbing to COVID-19.

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.

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 Tuesday 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 Tuesday 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. Orlando Sentinel staff reporters Stephen Hudak, Ryan Gillespie, Gray Rohrer, Austin Fuller and Steven Lemongello contributed to this report. The Associated Press also contributed to this report.