Florida reports over 5,800 coronavirus cases, 52 more deaths

A transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, also known as the 2019 novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the United States. Note the crown-like spikes on the outer edge of the virus, hence the term "coron (NIAID-RML)

The Florida Department of Health on Wednesday reports 5,838 new COVID-19 cases and 52 more deaths. 

The new numbers bring the statewide total to 858,012 cases.

Some Central Florida counties are seeing a gradual uptick in COVID-19 cases. 

Seminole County officials are reminding people that the pandemic is not over. The county is pleading with residents to help stop the spread of COVID in the midst of an uptick of cases.

With a positivity rate of around 9.5 percent, health officials say it’s still not as bad as the spike in July, but say they don’t want this upward trend to get any worse.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government's top infectious disease expert, said that a coronavirus vaccine could be available for the nation's highest-risk individuals as soon as December.

Fauci's comments in a Tuesday interview with MSNBC come a day after Pfizer announced that a vaccine being developed in partnership with BioNTech proved more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19 in a Phase 3 clinical trial.

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Pfizer’s chief executive has said that it could have 30 million to 40 million doses of the vaccine before the end of the year, enough for 15 million to 20 million people to get an initial shot and a booster three weeks later, The New York Times reported.