Contact: Joint Information Center on COVID-19 for the State of Florida (850) 815-4940, ESF14@em.myflorida.com

Florida Department of Health Updates New COVID-19 Cases, Announces Seventy-Two Deaths Related to COVID-19

~36,492 positive cases in Florida residents and 947 positive cases in non-Florida residents~ 

TALLAHASSEE —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 23,800 test results were reported to the Department of Health on Monday, May 4. Today, as of 11 a.m., there are 542 new positive COVID-19 cases (523 Florida residents and 19 non-Florida residents) and seventy-two 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 8 percent. On May 4, 2.6 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, 534 individuals that were staff or residents of a long-term care facility have died. 

There are a total of 37,439 Florida cases** with 1,471 deaths related to COVID-19.

Since 11 a.m. on May 4, seventy-two people have died who tested positive for COVID-19 in Broward, Charlotte, Collier, Dade, Escambia, Flagler, Hendry, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Suwannee and Volusia 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. 

More information on a case-by-case basis can also be found here. 

For more detail on Florida resident cases, please visit the live DOH Dashboard here. 

* Florida residents that are diagnosed with COVID-19 and isolated out of state are not reflected on the Florida map.

**This percentage is the number of people who test positive for the first time divided by all tests, excluding people who have previously tested positive.

***Total cases overview includes positive cases in Florida residents and non-Florida residents tested in Florida.

More Information on COVID-19

To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, please visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), please visit the CDC COVID-19 website, this website is also available in Spanish and Creole. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, please visit the travel advisory website.

For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, please contact the Department’s dedicated COVID-19 Call Center by calling 1-866-779-6121. The Call Center is available 24 hours per day. Inquiries may also be emailed to COVID-19@flhealth.gov.

About the Florida Department of Health

The Florida Department of Health, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts.