JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Florida’s health officials reported on Sunday the lowest number of new coronavirus deaths in more than two months.
The Florida Department of Health tallied 14 additional COVID-19 deaths as the number of known cases of the coronavirus reported each day also continued to drop. It was the lowest daily death toll since June 22, when officials reported 12 new deaths.
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One of the deaths reported Sunday was in Northeast Florida: the death of a 73-year-old woman in Putnam County, which has now recorded 37 deaths.
Florida’s total number of deaths since the pandemic began is now at 11,263. The average daily toll reported over the past week is 114.
Deaths from COVID-19 usually occur two weeks or more after diagnosis, so epidemiologists have said Florida’s fatality rate should shrink in the coming weeks if confirmed infections continue to shrink.
The state Department of Health said the number of confirmed cases had risen by 2,583 to a total of 621,586 cases in the state.
Meanwhile, the number of patients being treated for COVID-19 remained at about 3,800 Sunday.
Florida’s positivity rate in testing has been lower, remaining below 7% for 10 of the last 11 days. The state’s positivity rate was 5.14% for Saturday.
Jacksonville on Sunday added 107 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, bringing Duval County’s total to 26,391 cases with 254 deaths. Duval County’s positivity rate was 3.51% for Saturday.
In Putnam County, eight new cases were recorded Sunday for a county total of 1,763. Putnam County’s positivity rate was 4.88% for Saturday.
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, breathing trouble, sore throat, muscle pain, and loss of taste or smell. Most people develop only mild symptoms. But some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.