ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida reported an additional 5,885 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday.
The latest cases include 1,405 in Central Florida.
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Wednesday’s cases bring the total number in the state since the pandemic began to 2,096,747.
On Wednesday, the state also reported an additional 42 virus-related deaths, including seven in Brevard County.
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That brings Florida’s total death toll from the virus to 34,476.
On Wednesday, the state also surpassed 10 million vaccine doses administered so far. As of Wednesday, 6,630,107 people have been vaccinated in the state.
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The increases come as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that the highly transmissible coronavirus variant first detected in the United Kingdom is “now the most common” strain of the virus circulating in the United States.
“Testing remains an important strategy to rapidly identify and isolate infectious individuals, including those with variants of concern,” CDC Director Dr. Rachelle Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing.
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The strain, known formally as B.1.1.7, has contributed to rising U.S. case counts in recent weeks because it has been shown to be more contagious among younger Americans, Walensky said.
Specifically, she said new COVID-19 outbreaks have been tied to youth sports and day care centers, and she implored states with increasing caseloads to suspend, or at least limit, youth sports activities to slow the virus’ spread.
Click here to read more about the variant.
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See a county-by-county breakdown of total (and new) cases below, and click here for an interactive map of cases statewide:
Orange: CASES: 126,468 (+424); DEATHS: 1,198 (+0)
Polk: CASES: 62,402 (+205); DEATHS: 1,284 (+0)
Osceola: CASES: 40,496 (+134); DEATHS: 487 (+0)
Volusia: CASES: 39,322 (+202); DEATHS: 732 (+2)
Brevard: CASES: 37,984 (+132); DEATHS: 825 (+7)
Marion: CASES: 29,373 (+46); DEATHS: 933 (+6)
Seminole: CASES: 30,759 (+117); DEATHS: 471 (+1)
Lake: CASES: 27,173 (+92); DEATHS: 611 (+0)
Sumter: CASES: 8,909 (+23); DEATHS: 263 (+1)
Flagler: CASES: 6,818 (+30); DEATHS: 102 (+0)
Cox Media Group
