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Florida adds 7,569 new coronavirus cases but says a lab data backlog is to blame

The state said it's cutting ties with Quest Diagnostics because of a failure to "report all COVID-19 test results in a timely manner."

On Tuesday, the Florida Department of Health and Department of Emergency Management announced it was severing all ties with Quest Diagnostics, following an order from Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

State health leaders say the lab failed to "follow Florida law and report all COVID-19 results in a timely manner."

The state said Quest failed to report nearly 75,000 results dating back to as far as April, and the backlog of results has been added to Tuesday's coronavirus report. The governor's office was told most of the data is more than two weeks old, with some results as old as nearly five months.

"To drop this much unusable and stale data is irresponsible," DeSantis said. "I believe that Quest has abdicated their ability to perform a testing function in Florida that the people can be confident in."

RELATED: Florida cuts ties with Quest Diagnostics after lab failed report nearly 75K COVID-19 test results

As we do daily, we are reporting the latest pandemic information in Florida. But, today's data should be taken with a grain of salt and in the context of the information explained above.

Despite Tuesday's data drop, daily reported COVID-19 cases in Florida remained under 10,000. However, the newly-imported data did affect the number of new cases, how many test results were returned and the positivity rate.

Tuesday's updated report showed the state added 7,569 new cases on Aug. 31.

That brings the total to 631,040 cases statewide since March.

Out of 127,993 test results returned from labs on Aug. 31, 6.81 percent were positive for coronavirus. The state said without the historical data submission from Quest, the percent positive for Aug. 31 would be 5.89 percent. You can see the state's latest report here.

The state also reported another 187 Floridians and three non-residents had died after testing positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 11,374 Floridians and 147 non-residents who have died since the pandemic began.

Those numbers do not necessarily mean those people died Monday but rather the state learned of their deaths and added the numbers to the report that day. The state's line-by-line report, which you can read here, lists coronavirus deaths by the date the people tested positive for the virus, not the date they passed. 

However, the state recently added a section to its daily report (on page 5) that shows deaths by date of death. This data has been reported daily on Florida's COVID-19 dashboard.

The graph for deaths by date of death is subject to change, though, because the information reported to the state can be delayed up to two weeks. So, for consistency, our charts have stuck to new deaths added by the date they were added. For transparency, you can always reference the state's data here.

When it comes to hospitalizations, 3,626 people were hospitalized with coronavirus as their primary diagnosis as of 2:30 p.m. Tuesday. Of those, 650 patients were in the Tampa Bay area.

A total of 38,859 people in Florida have been hospitalized with COVID-19 at some point during the pandemic.

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
The line for Aug. 31 Includes a one-time historical data submission from a large laboratory and may not accurately reflect the most current coronavirus situation.

Here's a breakdown of the new coronavirus cases reported to the state:

  • June 21: 2,926 
  • June 22: 3,286
  • June 23: 5,508
  • June 24: 5,004
  • June 25: 8,942
  • June 26: 9,585
  • June 27: 8,530
  • June 28: 5,266
  • June 29: 6,093
  • June 30: 6,563
  • July 1: 10,109
  • July 2: 9,488
  • July 3: 11,458 
  • July 4: 10,059
  • July 5: 6,336
  • July 6: 7,347
  • July 7: 9,989
  • July 8: 8,935
  • July 9: 11,433
  • July 10: 10,360
  • July 11: 15,300
  • July 12: 12,624
  • July 13: 9,194
  • July 14: 10,181
  • July 15: 13,965
  • July 16: 11,466
  • July 17: 10,328
  • July 18: 12,478
  • July 19: 10,347
  • July 20: 9,440
  • July 21: 9,785
  • July 22: 10,249
  • July 23: 12,444
  • July 24: 12,199
  • July 25: 9,344
  • July 26: 8,892
  • July 27: 9,230
  • July 28: 9,446
  • July 29: 9,956
  • July 30: 8,989
  • July 31: 9,643
  • August 1: 7,104
  • August 2: 4,752
  • August 3: 5,446
  • August 4: 5,409
  • August 5: 7,650
  • August 6: 7,686
  • August 7: 8,502
  • August 8: 6,229
  • August 9: 4,155
  • August 10: 5,831
  • August 11: 8,109
  • August 12: 6,236
  • August 13: 6,148
  • August 14: 6,352
  • August 15: 3,779
  • August 16: 2,678
  • August 17: 3,838
  • August 18: 4,115
  • August 19: 4,555
  • August 20: 4,684
  • August 21: 4,311
  • August 22: 2,974
  • August 23: 2,258
  • August 24: 2,673
  • August 25: 3,220
  • August 26: 3,269
  • August 27: 3,815
  • August 28: 3,197
  • August 29: 2,583
  • August 30: 1,885
  • August 31: 7,569*
Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
The line for Aug. 31 Includes a one-time historical data submission from a large laboratory and may not accurately reflect the most current coronavirus situation.

Breaking down the numbers

Florida on Aug. 22 became the second state to cross the 600,000 reported COVID-19 cases mark. As of Aug. 29, California has had more than 697,000 cases. Texas has about 619,000 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.

On Aug. 9, the United States passed 5 million confirmed coronavirus cases, the highest recorded number in the world, according to the Associated Press. As of Aug. 29, the nation had nearly 6 million.

The highest single-day case number Florida has reported so far is 15,300 for July 11. However, Florida has not reported a single-day new case number at or higher than 10,000 since late July.

And, the report from the state showed 1,885 new cases were confirmed on Aug. 30, the fewest in a day since mid-June.

The state's report released on Aug. 11 of 277 newly confirmed deaths was the highest seen from the state in a single day's report. The previous record was 257 from the July 31 report.

The World Health Organization and infectious disease experts around the globe have recommended a positivity rate of 5 percent or lower for a 14-day span in order to be comfortable reopening

Until Aug. 21, Florida had not seen a positivity rate at 5 percent since the beginning of June. In July, the state reported positivity rates at double and even triple that recommended percentage.

The reports for Aug. 1 and 2, respectively, showed positivity rates below 10 percent for the first time since June 24. So far in August, the state has reported a positivity rate above 10 percent five times (Aug. 3, 4, 6, 10 and 11).

The positivity rate reported for Aug. 21 (4.89 percent) is the lowest Florida has seen since mid-June.

Florida remains in Phase Two of reopening, which began June 5.

Credit: 10 Tampa Bay
The line for Aug. 31 Includes a one-time historical data submission from a large laboratory and may not accurately reflect the most current coronavirus situation.

Hospitalizations and ICU bed availability

Cases are climbing, but what about hospitalizations?

Tracking hospitalizations got easier on July 10 when the Agency for Health Care Administration began publishing a spreadsheet with the number of people currently checked-in for coronavirus-related complications in Florida. The data only includes people whose "primary diagnosis" was COVID-19.

As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, 3,624 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as their primary diagnosis statewide, and 652 of them were in the Tampa Bay area. Those numbers are frequently updated, and you can click here for the most recent data, which is also broken down by county.

Since the pandemic began, the state confirms a total of 38,859 residents were hospitalized at some point during their illness.

The Agency for Healthcare Administration (AHCA) also updates total hospital bed and ICU availability by county.

Click here for a breakdown of adult and pediatric ICU bed availability by county. You can also check ICU availability by the hospital. 

Hospitalizations around Tampa Bay and total staffed hospital bed capacity status: 

**Data as of 3 p.m. Sept. 1

Citrus:

  • 27 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 81 of 310 total staffed hospital beds are available

DeSoto:

  • 2 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 43 of 55 total staffed hospital beds are available

Hardee:

  • 0 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 6 of 25 total staffed hospital beds are available

Hernando:

  • 26 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 275 of 758 total staffed hospital beds are available

Highlands:

  • 23 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 67 of 256 total staffed hospital beds are available

Hillsborough:

  • 186 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 685 of 3,785 total staffed hospital beds are available

Manatee:

  • 26 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 117 of 749 total staffed hospital beds are available

Pasco:

  • 47 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 316 of 1,401 total staffed hospital beds are available

Pinellas: 

  • 136 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 911 of 3,051 total staffed hospital beds are available

Polk: 

  • 133 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 365 of 1,625 total staffed hospital beds are available

Sarasota: 

  • 46 COVID-19 hospitalizations
  • 219 of 1,186 total staffed hospital beds are available

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