Florida tops 61,000 COVID-19 deaths

More than 61,000 Florida residents have died of COVID-19 since the pandemic started in early 2020, according to a report released Friday by the state Department of Health. 

As of Thursday, 61,081 deaths had been reported. That was up from 60,697 a week earlier, though lags in reporting make it difficult to determine when the deaths occurred. 

The Department of Health numbers also showed that 3,677,968 COVID-19 cases had been reported since the pandemic started. Separately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services posted data Friday that showed 1,383 Florida hospital inpatients had COVID-19, including 264 in intensive-care units. 

Florida saw a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations during the summer because of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. But those numbers have dramatically decreased in September, October, and the first part of November.

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