The statereleased COVID-19 death toll numbers specific to Florida's long-term care facilities for the first time Wednesday evening, revealing that roughly one in five of deaths are residents or staff in these facilities. As of Friday morning, they accounted for 141 of the state's 686 deaths.
Florida currently lags just behind California in total numbers of tests conducted. Roughly one in every 91 Floridians has been tested for the coronavirus to date.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press briefing this morning that as of 8 p.m. last night, there were 774 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units statewide, the lowest total number since April 9.
DeSantis also announced two new walk-up sites for testing in Broward County, so those without access to transportation can still access testing. The sites will begin administering a maximum of 200 tests per day. DeSantis said if successful, they would likely replicate these walk-up sites in other underserved communities in the state.
DeSantis said he believes widely expanded rapid testing is a key to reopening businesses across the state.
DeSantis said President Trump's phase guidelines for reopening states would be used as a "baseline," but "it doesn't mean that . . . Florida is going to go every single thing they say or not say."
For now, DeSantis said the state's number one economic priority is getting reemployment assistance checks out as soon as possible. DeSantis said 100,000 payments were made this week — up from 35,000 last week, and more, he said, than were made this entire year before the crisis.
Here are the latest coronavirus updates by the Florida Department of Health, as of Friday morning:
- 24,119 total cases in Florida
- 3,507 hospitalizations in Florida
- 686 deaths in Florida
Alachua County:
- 202 total cases
- 27 hospitalizations
- Zero deaths
Although Alachua County has a higher number of total cases, surrounding rural counties have recorded more coronavirus-related deaths.
Find the full FDOH coronavirus dashboard here.