Florida Reports Another 140 COVID-19 Deaths, But New Cases Drop Under 10,000

In a possibly encouraging sign, the state Department of Health reported 9,785 more people have been infected by COVID-19, the second day in a row cases were under 10,000. The state has reported an average of 11,115 cases per day over the past seven days.

The pandemic death toll increased by 140 people on Wednesday, only the second time as many deaths have been recorded in a daily report.

The new cases reported Wednesday bring the total to 379,619, putting Florida behind only California and New York, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID Data Tracker.

Florida’s latest pandemic report shows the number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 now stands at 5,459. The record daily death total was set last Thursday, with 156.

Florida says it has tested 3.16 million people since the pandemic began, and 12% have been positive.

On Wednesday, the state reported a 10.6% positivity rate for tests statewide in the previous 24-hour period. That’s the lowest in more than two weeks.

The daily positivity rate is a closely watched figure, since it’s one of the numbers that indicates the prevalence of the disease in the population. In May, Florida’s positivity rate was around 5%.

“The trend is much better today than the trend was two weeks ago,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters on Tuesday.