JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s rate of positive COVID-19 tests remained below 8% six of the last seven days, according to data released Friday by the state health department.
The figure used by state and local governments to weigh reopening decisions tracks the percent of positive results for new cases in Florida residents. Until the past week, the number hadn’t dipped below 8% since June 21.
Recommended Videos
In data collected for Thursday, the rate was 6.83%, the second day in a row it was below 7%. It remains to be seen how the reopening of school districts in Florida will affect the rate of positive cases. An order from Florida’s Education Commissioner directed all Florida school districts to reopen their buildings for in-person learning by the end of the month.
Statewide, Florida added another 4,684 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Friday’s data, and the overall number of deaths for residents and non-residents went up by 118. Florida has now reported a total of 10,304 deaths, which represents 1.7% of the states 593,286 total cases.
Jacksonville added 199 newly confirmed cases in Friday’s report, bringing Duval County’s total to 25,316 cases of COVID-19 with 235 deaths. Jacksonville reported three additional deaths Friday, Putnam reported two more deaths and St. Johns and Nassau counties reported one additional death each.
According to the state’s county-by-county report, Clay County’s total for deaths actually went down by two to 70. The state did not indicate why the number was reduced from what was previously reported.
The seven additional deaths and the two removed in Clay County mean the 11 Northeast Florida counties News4Jax tracks have now reported 496 deaths since the pandemic began.
Coronavirus deaths typically occur weeks or more after the disease is contracted and diagnosed. And the deaths reported in each day’s state data did not necessarily occur in the last 24 hours as the deaths often take many days to be reported to the state.
According to the Associated Press, as of Thursday, the average daily reported deaths over the past week was 167 — down from a peak of 185 two weeks ago -- and the seven-day average of new confirmed cases at 4,541 was at a low not seen since June 25.
Hospitalizations for the disease have been on a downward trend over the past month. Late Thursday morning, 5,340 patients were being treated for the disease in Florida hospitals, compared with Wednesday’s 5,351. That number has dropped from a peak above 9,500 on July 23.
Daily COVID-19 cases reported in Florida and Duval County
The decrease in case spikes and hospitalizations come as Florida's largest teacher's union argues with attorneys for the state of Florida over whether schools should reopen during the pandemic.
The Florida Education Association sued Gov. Ron DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education and others to stop brick-and-mortar schools from physically reopening, arguing it is unsafe to do so until the spread of the virus is under control.
The teacher’s union is seeking an injunction from a judge in Tallahassee to stop enforcement of a state order requiring schools to be open five days a week, starting this month.
With that decision pending, Duval County Public Schools opened its doors to students on Thursday with changes in place for bus transportation and classroom cleaning protocols.
RELATED: How will parents know if Duval County students are exposed to COVID-19?
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, breathing trouble, sore throat, muscle pain, and loss of taste or smell. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia.