TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida added 276 fatalities to its coronavirus death toll on Tuesday, a new state record.
The highest previous single-day addition to Florida’s death count was 257, on July 31. Florida’s total fatalities due to the virus now stands at 8,685.
The state health department figures do not represent deaths in a 24-hour period, but because of reporting lags, they can include deaths from several previous days.
Although confirmed COVID-19 cases have been decelerating in the state, adding about 5,800 on Tuesday, the fatality number reflects the deadliness of the disease during its surge in Florida in late June and July.
The new deaths bring the state’s seven-day average in daily reported deaths to 165 — down from a high of 185 a week ago. New York, a comparable state in terms of population, had a peak seven-day average death toll of 764 in April.
The number of patients treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 continued a more than two-week decline, standing at 6,729 in the late morning Tuesday — down nearly 30 percent from highs above 9,500 last month.