Florida sets 1-day coronavirus death record
Percentage of tests coming back positive increased from 6% to more than 18%
Florida confirmed 132 coronavirus deaths Tuesday, a one-day record for the state.
That’s a 10 percent increase from the previous record set Thursday but likely includes deaths from Saturday or Sunday not reported until Monday.
RECORD HIGH LEVEL OF NEW CORONAVIRUS INFECTIONS IN FLORIDA
The rolling seven-day average is 81 deaths per day, currently the second highest in the country behind Texas and double the 39 average two weeks ago.
Beachgoers walk along the shore on Miami Beach, Florida's famed South Beach on July 7, 2020. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
Doctors had been predicting a surge in deaths because Florida’s daily reported infection cases have gone from about 2,000 a day to more than 12,000 in the past month.
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That is partly driven by increased testing. However, the percentage of tests coming back positive has increased from 6 percent a month ago to more than 18 percent.
When COVID-19 was ravaging New York three months ago, it recorded 799 deaths on April 9 and had a top seven-day average of 763 deaths on April 14. It now has one of the lowest death rates in the country per capita, recording 10 per day during the last week.