Florida reports 14,000 new cases of COVID-19 as the state handles a new variant of the virus

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida leads the country in cases of the COVID-19 variant, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The state has 125 cases of the variant, according to the CDC. Six cases of the COVID-19 variant have been reported in Seminole County, according to the health department.

[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Johnson & Johnson announces vaccine efficacy as Florida reports 10,871 new COVID-19 cases]

Seminole County is not the only area where cases have been reported in Central Florida.

Two cases have been reported in Orange County, according to Dr. Raul Pino of the Florida Department of Health. The cases in Orange County were of two people visiting.

The variant has also been reported in Osceola County, Volusia County, Brevard County and Lake County. Health officials said variant B.1.1.7 came with an exceptionally large number of mutations.

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The variant spreads more easily and quickly and is more common in London and was first detected in September 2020, officials said.

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Cases

The Florida Department of Health reported 14,735 new cases on Saturday, bringing the state’s grand total to 1,713,589 cases since the coronavirus pandemic began in March.

Deaths

Florida reported 110 new virus-related deaths on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 26,795. This number includes the 435 non-residents who died in Florida.

Hospitalizations

As of Saturday afternoon, 6,153 people with the virus were hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Health Administration Agency.

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Since March, 72,135 people were hospitalized in Florida after complications from COVID-19. That number includes 271 New patients who have recently been hospitalized for the virus, according to the daily health department report released on Saturday.

Positive rate

The percentage of positive results was 6.62% on Friday. Health officials say the rate should remain between 5% and 10% to prove that a community contains the virus and is reducing infections.

Vaccinations

The Florida Department of Health recently started releasing a daily report on COVID-19 vaccines administered across the state.

As of Saturday, 1,948,148 people had been vaccinated in Florida. The FDOH also reports that 296,782 people received their second shot.

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[Register for the COVID-19 vaccine in Florida here]

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County	Cases	New cases	Hospitalizations	New hospitalizations	Deaths	New Deaths
Brevard	29,177	385	1,774	5	650	11
Flagler	5,254	51	294	3	70	0
Lake	21,697	186	1,129	3	426	two
Marion	24,370	192	1,535	1	575	1
orange	102,897	942	2,202	7	939	two
Osceola	33,447	273	1,194	3	374	4
Polk	50,201	509	3,830	30	967	3
Seminole	24,055	194	1,035	3	373	1
Sumter	7,070	73	438	0	186	0
Volusia	30,750	430	1,516	10	534	0

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