Orange County leads in positive cases
The Florida Department of Health announced hundreds of new COVID-19 cases and more than half a dozen additional coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday as the number of confirmed cases nears 25,500.
According to the Florida Department of Health, there are exactly 25,492 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 748 coronavirus-related deaths as of Saturday evening, an increase from the 25,269 Florida-related cases and 740 deaths reported Saturday morning.
Health officials also said in Saturday evening’s update that there are currently 3,745 patients being hospitalized statewide due to the virus, up from the 3,680 that were reportedly hospitalized as of Saturday morning.
The number of those who have recovered from COVID-19 in Florida is not being reported by state health officials. That coronavirus data the FDOH releases twice daily does not include how many people who tested positive in the past month and have since recovered and returned to their normal lives.
Orange County continues to have the highest number of positive cases in Central Florida. Officials are urging anyone with symptoms or who may have come in contact with someone who contracted the virus to get tested.
Orange County Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino said during a news conference earlier in the week that recent data regarding COVID-19 cases in the area looks hopeful that the county may have already seen the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, but that it’s still too soon to scale back on efforts to stop the spread of the virus.
In Osceola County, a new dashboard was unveiled to help the community stay up to date with critical information regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
The dashboard, which can be found on the county’s website Osceola.org, reports information from hospitals, federal and state agencies as well as the Florida Department of Health.
The dashboard shares information from surrounding counties on total coronavirus cases, positive cases by zip code, current hospital status and more.
Users will also be able to view country and world data on COVID-19.
The dashboard will work best when viewed on a computer or tablet, officials said.
Orlando residents can also now track coronavirus cases by neighborhood using the city’s new online data tracker. Orlando’s online database also includes updated heat maps, showing which areas throughout the city have the highest number of confirmed cases.
