DOH reported Sunday night that the state’s total COVID-19 cases is 912, a 22.6% increase since Saturday. Â Escambia County added 8 case, 29.6% jump; Okaloosa 1 case, 3.7% increase; and Santa Rosa 4 more cases, 25% increase. The state has 60 deaths related to COVID-19.
According to DOH’s email update, one of the new deaths was in Santa Rosa County (see below), but the death wasn’t included in the DOH dashboard.
Florida has 633 hospitalizations due to the virus – Escambia 2, Okaloosa 5 and Santa Rosa 7, according to the dashboard.
| 3/28/20 | 3/29/20 | |||
| 6 p.m. | 6 p.m. | Increase | ||
| Total Cases | 4038 | 4950 | 912 | 22.59% |
| Florida Residents | 3877 | 4768 | 891 | 22.98% |
| Non-Fla. | 161 | 182 | 21 | 13.04% |
| Deaths | 56 | 60 | 4 | 7.14% |
| Escambia | 27 | 35 | 8 | 29.63% |
| Okaloosa | 27 | 28 | 1 | 3.70% |
| Santa Rosa | 16 | 20 | 4 | 25.00% |
| Broward | 801 | 992 | 191 | 23.85% |
Between Sunday’s 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. DOH updates, four more people died “who tested positive for COVID-19 in Collier, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Santa Rosa counties.”
Here is the entire DOH update received at 6:38 p.m. Sunday, March 29:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 29, 2020
Contact: Joint Information Center on COVID-19 for the State of Florida (850) 815-4940, ESF14@em.myflorida.com
Florida Department of Health Updates New COVID-19 Cases, Announces Four New Deaths Related to COVID-19, Evening Update
~4,768 positive cases in Florida residents and 182 positive cases in non-Florida residents~
TALLAHASSEE —To keep Florida residents and visitors safe, informed and aware about the status of the virus, The Florida Department of Health has launched a COVID-19 dashboard that will be updated twice daily. Today, as of 6 p.m., there are 4,950 total** Florida cases.
Four people have died who tested positive for COVID-19 in Collier, Palm Beach, Pinellas and Santa Rosa counties.
New Florida cases include:
- 704 additional positive COVID-19 cases (691 Florida residents and 13 non-Florida residents) reported to the Florida Department of Health.
- There are currently 4,768 positive cases in Florida residents and 182 positive cases in non-Florida residents.
Florida recently partnered with private laboratories around the state to expand COVID-19 laboratory testing capacity. This partnership will increase the number of tests conducted each day and ensure Floridians receive the critical health information they need in a timely manner.
Expansion to private laboratories changes the COVID-19 testing landscape in Florida. Private laboratories are running tests as they receive swab samples from practitioners. Testing and reporting times vary among commercial and DOH laboratories. Demographic information may be updated during investigations. These twice daily reports reflect the state’s efforts to accurately and transparently share information.
More information on a case-by-case basis can also be found here.
For more detail on Florida resident cases, please visit the live DOH Dashboard here.
* Florida residents that are diagnosed with COVID-19 and isolated out of state are not reflected on the Florida map.
**Total cases overview includes positive cases in Florida residents and non-Florida residents tested in Florida.
More Information on COVID-19
To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), please visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, please visit the travel advisory website.
For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling 1-866-779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.
About the Florida Department of Health
The Florida Department of Health, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @HealthyFla. For more information please visit www.FloridaHealth.gov.
President Trump extends CDC restrictions to April 30
President Trump’s initial deadline for ending the CDC’s social-distancing guidelines was today. However, the President on Sunday extended the restrictive  guidelines through April because of models from public-health experts that estimate the country’s death toll due to the COVID-19 virus may peak in mid-April.
PBS reports: “Trump, who has largely avoided talk of potential death and infection rates, cited projection models that said potentially 2.2 million people or more could have died had social distancing measures not been put in place. And he said the country would be doing well if it “can hold†the number of deaths “down to 100,000.†He said the best case for the country would be for the death rate to peak in about two weeks.”
Read more.