JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s Department of Health late Friday reported 150,118 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, the first update since mid-June where the number of new cases declined. Yet the statewide rate of positive tests rose for a ninth straight week, reaching 19.8%.
The state has seen 3,027,954 cases of COVID-19 and 42,252 related deaths since the pandemic began in March 2020.
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Also increasing were the COVID-19 deaths -- 1,486 more since last week’s report -- and hospitalizations -- 16,849, according to the Florida Hospital Association, since the state DOH no longer includes those in its weekly report.
The recent hospitalization numbers nearly double the summer 2020 peak.
The state data, from Aug. 13-19, showed that of the 150,118 new cases, 20,331 were among children under 12. That age group’s positivity rate was 23%.
The percentage of positive tests across continues to be higher in Northeast Florida than the state average, with every county other than Alachua above 20% and Bradford, Columbia, Putnam and Union counties above 30%.
Glimmers of good news in the data beyond the first statewide drop in new cases all summer include a significant decline in Duval County cases for the second week in a row and the continued increase in vaccinations, with a state average of 66% of those 12 and above having had at least one shot.