Florida tops 15,000 new COVID-19 cases
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida reported 15,322 new COVID-19 cases and 16 COVID-19 deaths on Monday, according to data posted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The data, posted Tuesday, showed that Florida was responsible for more than 16 percent of the newly reported cases nationwide and about 3 percent of deaths reported for the day. A seven-day "moving" average showed Florida averaging 20,058 COVID-19 cases and 39 deaths.
Meanwhile, the federal government on Tuesday posted revised Florida COVID-19 infection data for Saturday and Sunday. The CDC website showed a revised total of 41,071 new cases over the two days, down from an initial report on the site of 56,633 cases.
RELATED: Florida’s health department says CDC’s COVID count for state is wrong, 'anticipates' correction
The Florida Department of Health late Monday said on Twitter that the information on the CDC website was "wrong" and that the state had 34,886 newly reported cases of COVID-19 on Saturday and Sunday. Florida has not had to report weekend COVID-19 data to the federal government since June 18 and reports Saturday and Sunday data on Mondays.
Jason Salemi, a professor at the University of South Florida College of Public Health and the Morsani College of Medicine, told The News Service of Florida that the error in the posted information was most likely the result of the CDC misunderstanding how many days of data Florida reported on Monday.
Florida has seen a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks because of the rampant spread of the delta variant of the coronavirus. The spike also has led to increases in COVID-19 patients --- mostly unvaccinated --- needing hospitalization.
Florida hospitals reported on Tuesday that nearly 28% of the inpatient beds being utilized are filled with patients who have COVID 19, according to a website maintained by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In all, about 85% of the inpatient hospital beds in the state are in use, according to the data, which hospitals report to the government daily.
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