ORLANDO, Fla. — July has been the deadliest month of the pandemic for Florida and across Central Florida communities.
Health officials said it's important to remember the newly reported deaths are not people who died that day. They could have died a few days earlier or even a few weeks earlier.
The high number of deaths being reported are likely tied to the higher number of cases a few weeks ago.
For five months, Floridians have been fighting to survive a deadly, highly contagious virus.
"Doctors are doing the best they can to save lives," said Orange County Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino.
For four consecutive days, Florida has reported a new record number of COVID-19 deaths. More than 1,000 people have now died in Central Florida.
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July has been the deadliest month of Covid-19 in Florida. Here’s a breakdown of the numbers from 7/1 to 7/31 for Central FL counties. Why Orange County’s Health Officer says we’ll likely see at least 40 more deaths in the next few weeks & when it’ll start to slow down @WFTV at 5. pic.twitter.com/VHfQEdPnrK
— Lauren Seabrook (@LSeabrookWFTV) July 31, 2020
Orange County started July with 58 deaths, and that number nearly quadrupled by the end with 222.
Seminole County started with 17 deaths and ended with 82.
Volusia County started with 58 and ended with 112
Brevard County started with 17 and ended with 114, nearly seven times higher.
Osceola County had 25 deaths on July 1 and reported a total of 71 on Friday.
Lake County started with 22 and ended with 51.
Sumter County started with 17 and ended with 30.
Marion County had 10 at the start and ended with 60.
Flagler County doubled from five to 10 deaths.
Polk County doubled from 102 deaths to 268, the highest number of deaths in Central Florida.
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Pino said Central Florida can still expect to see more deaths because about 80 to 90 people are in intensive care.
“If 50% of those people can die, we can have an additional 40 deaths,” Pino said. “And those numbers are staggering numbers. One is too many.”
Click here to find out where to find COVID-19 testing in Central Florida.
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INTERACTIVE MAP: Coronavirus cases in Florida
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