Florida has reported 9,000 deaths from COVID-19 related to long-term care

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida surpassed another disturbing milestone this week when it surpassed the 9,000 coronavirus-related deaths of residents and long-term care center staff members, with the vast majority of seniors in residences and care centers.

The state added 156 COVID-19-related deaths statewide in data released Saturday by the Florida Department of Health. More than 25,500 Florida residents and visitors to the state have died from the virus, according to state data.

Overall, Florida has the fourth highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the country, behind New York, California and Texas, according to a Johns Hopkins University website that tracks pandemic data.

Among the deaths reported Saturday in Florida were five in St. Louis County. Johns (151 in total), four in Putnam (96) and three in Bradford (35). Duval County has the highest death toll among the 11 counties News4Jax has followed in Florida with 863.

Florida reported an additional 12,311 cases on Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 1,639,914 since the pandemic began last year.

Cases and deaths have increased during the fall and winter.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has set his COVID-19 strategy on vaccines, focusing on people 65 and older who face certain health hazards from the virus. During an appearance Friday on Fox News, DeSantis announced giving at least the first doses of vaccines to nearly a million seniors.

“It simply came to our notice then. It’s something we have to focus on, the population aged 65 and over, ”said DeSantis. “There are young and healthy workers who get it in other states. God bless them, but I want to protect our vulnerable. “

But the supply of vaccines remains limited and the elderly continue to train most people who die from the virus.

As of Friday’s count, 20,797 of Florida residents ’deaths affected people age 65 or older. This accounted for 83% of global deaths, a percentage that has remained relatively unchanged for months.

Deaths from long-term care are also another indicator of the toll the pandemic continues to suffer in the elderly.

With 85 additional long-term care deaths reported Friday, the total reached 9,097, or about 36% of the state’s overall resident deaths. As another indicator, more than 100 deaths from long-term care have been reported in 26 of the state’s 67 counties since the pandemic began.

There have been at least 70,000 resident hospitalizations attributed to the new coronavirus in Florida since the outbreak began, and the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration on Saturday afternoon reported 6,707 currently hospitalized with a primary diagnosis. of COVID-19, compared to 7,367 people earlier in the week.

At least 1,328,175 vaccines have been administered in Florida, with 151,447 people in the state receiving the two necessary vaccines, but some vaccination sites have had to close as they have exhausted their allocation and the frustration of people who meet the requirements i was able to get an appointment to make a shot.

But officials are trying to increase coronavirus vaccines, with concerns spreading about a new, more contagious variant that could be established in the state.

Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Florida had 46 confirmed cases of the most transmissible strain of COVID-19 as of Sunday, eclipsing California with 40 confirmed cases at the last count. The strain was first detected in the UK in December and has begun to spread around the world.

Early evidence seems to indicate that the new strain is no more lethal than previous varieties that sickened about 24.2 million in the U.S. and killed more than 400,000. Florida is now approaching 1.6 million confirmed cases, with nearly 10,000 new cases and about 160 additional deaths reported Tuesday. To date, the state has reported more than 24,400 virus-related deaths.

“This new strain is more contagious and that means more people will become infected,” said Dr. Frederick Southwick, a professor of medicine and a specialist in infectious diseases at the University of Florida. “If we had a problem, we’ll have more now.”

Communities across the country are battling the rise in infections as they wait for more doses of two vaccines approved for use against the virus.

“The game plan is what it has been before: vaccinate as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, try to step on this virus and drop the total number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths,” Dr. Glenn Morris, director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida.

The Florida Associated Press and News Service contributed to this report.