(Bloomberg) — Florida’s Covid-19 deaths rose to a daily record of 188, more than double the number reported a day earlier, even as the pace of new infections slowed.
The surge of coronavirus deaths among the state’s residents appears to confirm concern among health experts that fatalities would increase after cases climbed in Florida and around the southwest. Texas, Arizona and South Carolina are among the other states where death tolls have begun mounting, weeks after case counts began to surge amid reopening and politically charged debates over mask use and social distancing.
Florida’s previous record death toll was reported Thursday, with 120 among residents. That number dropped to 93 in the state’s Friday report, only to more than double overnight to 188.
New cases reported Saturday dropped to 10,360 from 11,385 the day before, a 4.2% increase that compares with a seven-day average of 4.6%. Total cases are now 254,511.
One reason cited for the lower death tolls reported earlier was that younger people were contracting the virus more than more vulnerable elderly people. The average age in Florida for people with the virus remained at 40, unchanged from the day before.
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
