Estero 5/20/20 Florida Department of Health Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The Florida Department of Health, in order to provide more comprehensive data, releases a report on COVID-19 cases in Florida once per day. The Florida Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard is also providing updates once per day. The state also provides a report detailing surveillance data for every Florida county. Previously, this information was only available for select communities. The surveillance data report is available here.

More than 33,600 test results were reported to the Department of Health on Monday, May 18, the most results reported in a single day. Today, as of 11 a.m., there are 502 new positive COVID-19 cases (476 Florida residents and 26 non-Florida residents) and fifty-five deaths related to COVID-19.

While Florida’s testing has increased over the past week, the percent of those testing positive for COVID-19 overall is 7 percent. On May 18, 1.9 percent of new cases** tested positive.

The Florida Department of Health also releases a list of long-term care facilities in Florida associated with COVID-19 cases with active cases and number of deaths in each facility in order to provide real-time data. The list of long-term care facilities with active COVID-19 cases is available here. The list of long-term care facilities with deaths in available here. To date, 938 individuals that were staff or residents of a long-term care facility have died.

There are a total of 46,944 Florida cases** with 2,052 deaths related to COVID-19.

Since 11 a.m. on May 18, fifty-five people have died who tested positive for COVID-19 in Broward, Calhoun, Charlotte, Collier, Dade, Desoto, Duval, Escambia, Hillsborough, Manatee, Martin, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Sarasota, St. Lucie, Volusia and Walton counties.

Florida recently partnered with private laboratories around the state to expand COVID-19 laboratory testing capacity. This partnership will increase the number of tests conducted each day and ensure Floridians receive the critical health information they need in a timely manner.

Expansion to private laboratories changes the COVID-19 testing landscape in Florida. Private laboratories are running tests as they receive swab samples from practitioners. Testing and reporting times vary among commercial and DOH laboratories. Demographic information may be updated during investigations. This daily report reflect the state’s efforts to accurately and transparently share information.