Florida adds over 85,000 new COVID-19 cases

Florida – Following a record-breaking week of infections amid an increase in testing and the fast-spreading omicron variant, Florida added more than 85,000 new COVID-19 cases this past weekend.

The state reported 45,838 cases on Saturday and 39,797 cases on Sunday, pushing Florida’s total to more than 4.3 million since the pandemic began, according to figures released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last week, Florida set records for daily cases for five straight days, peaking with 75,902 on Dec. 30. It was one of four days last week where Florida reported more than 50,000 new cases.

The record-breaking numbers came as the omicron variant surged in Florida and across the country amid the holidays.

The latest report from the Florida Department of Health released Friday showed Florida’s positivity rate rose to 26.5% after it had dropped to just 2.1% in mid-November.

Hospitalizations in Florida from Covid were up to 5,299 on Monday, more than 800 more than were reported on Friday, according to the Florida Hospital Association.

Hospitalizations remain well below this summer’s delta surge when they peaked at more than 17,100.

Florida reported 32 Covid-related deaths from Dec. 24 to Dec. 30. The state’s death toll since the pandemic began is 62,541, behind only California and Texas.