Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Florida passes New York as US state with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases

Florida passes New York as US state with the second-highest number of coronavirus cases

Florida on Saturday reported more than 12,000 new cases of the novel coronavirus, and in doing so, surpassed the state of New York in the total number of COVID-19 cases. With more than 414,000 cases, Florida is second to California for the hardest-hit state by the number of confirmed infections. However, Florida still lags far behind in New York when it comes to reported deaths.
Florida also on Saturday recorded its third-highest increase in hospitalizations, with 511 new hospitalized patients.
Florida has reported more than 414,000 cases of the coronavirus as of Saturday, surpassing New York and becoming the US state with the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases reported since the pandemic began.

Florida still sits slightly behind the state of California, which has reported 440,325 cases of the virus since the pandemic began, according to data analyzed by Johns Hopkins University. The Florida Department of Health on Saturday reported 12,180 new cases of the virus since Friday, pushing the state total past New York.

The state still falls well behind New York in deaths from the novel coronavirus. According to data from the department of health, there have so far been 5,894 reported deaths caused by the virus in the state of Florida. There has been more than five times that number - 32,596 deaths -in the state of New York, according to the Hopkins data. The state of New York suffered the worst outbreak of the coronavirus early on but has recently maintained a low rate of new infections.

Deaths have also been on the rise in Florida, which reported 173 new deaths from the virus on Thursday -an all-time record. On Saturday, the state health department reported 124 new COVID-19 deaths.

According to Johns Hopkins University, the current positivity rate over the past seven days in the state of Florida is 19% compared to a rate of 1.1% in New York. In California, 7.9% of tests administered over the past week have returned a positive result — not too dissimilar from the 8.4% rate nationwide.

The hardest-hit Florida county is Miami-Dade, which surpassed more than 100,000 cases on Saturday, according to state data. As the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has faced renewed scrutiny for his handling of the pandemic in the state. A Quinnipiac poll released Thursday found that 52% of Floridians polled were dissatisfied with the Republican's performance.

DeSantis has so far refused calls to issue a statewide mask mandate, though approximately one-third of Florida counties require them, according to Forbes.

As the Tampa Bay Times reported, Florida on Saturday recorded its third-highest increase in hospitalizations, with 511 new hospitalized patients. State officials reported 584 new hospitalizations on Friday, according to the report.

Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.

Get the latest coronavirus business & economic impact analysis from Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Twenty-Nine US States Take Meta to Trial Over Alleged Child Addiction on Instagram and Facebook
Former Scottish National Party Executive Peter Murrell Jailed for Five Years Over £400,000 Embezzlement
Moderna and Merck's Personalized Cancer Vaccine Succeeds in Historic Late-Stage Melanoma Trial
Prince Harry and Meghan to Move Back to Britain With Their Children
England and Wales Have Fewer Than 1,800 Prison Places Left for Men
Suspected People Smuggler Arrested After Investigation Identified Him
Children's Doctors Warn That Vaping Can Lead Young People to Smoking
Hundreds of Thousands of Students Receive GCSE and Vocational Results Across England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Here Is What Can Never Happen in Your Country: Taiwan Is Giving Money to All Its People Because It Collected Too Much Tax
UK Inflation Rises to 2.9% as Energy Bills Jump
UK Issues New Conduct Guide for Asylum Seekers on Consent and Respect
A Sleepless Night on Wall Street: Nasdaq to Begin Nearly Round-the-Clock Trading
"The First in the World": 69-Year-Old Protested Artificial Intelligence—and Went to Jail
Ukraine's Ousted Defence Minister Calls for Wartime Presidential Election
China’s Lifelike AI Humans Move From Livestreams Into Real-World Service Roles
Sarah Ferguson Reportedly Retreats to Late Ex-Boyfriend's Swiss Chalet
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Thieves Steal Antonello da Messina Renaissance Masterpieces From Sicilian Museum
Better.com Founder Who Fired 900 Employees on Zoom Is Ousted as CEO
Italian Speed Camera Issues Nearly 32,000 Fines in 10 Weeks, Worth More Than €3 Million
AI Manager at San Francisco Store Recommends Firing Human Employee
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Reform UK Unveils Plan to Cut Welfare Spending by More Than £50 Billion a Year
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Praised Extinction Rebellion for Doing a 'Great Service'
UK Wildfire Phone Alert Triggers Backlash as Users Switch Off Emergency Warnings
Heathrow Roads Reopen After Burst Water Main Floods Access to Terminals 2 and 3
Former NBA Players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White Say They Will Enter 2027 WNBA Draft
Former Cambridge Professor Jason Arday Found Dead Days After Resigning Amid Plagiarism Row
US Appeals Court Rules AI Agent's Website Actions Are Legally Attributed to the User
France's Constitutional Council Blocks Social Media Ban for Children Under 15
Liechtenstein Changes Royal Succession Rules to Allow Women to Inherit the Throne
Women Allege Rape and Sexual Abuse at British Army College for Teenage Recruits
Minnesota: Two independent investigators posed as Muslims (one wearing a burqa) and showed how they could vote in elections without identification.
China’s Kimi Launches AI-Focused Credit Card With Agricultural Bank of China and American Express
Former Labour Adviser Arrested on Suspicion of Spying for China Held Privileged Access as Top Party Donor
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Donald Trump Warns FIFA Against Ousting Gianni Infantino Amid Revolt by Global Football Leaders
Jeff Bezos Joins Investor Group Closing In on $6 Billion Liverpool FC Stake
UK Councils to Receive Sweeping Planning Powers to Ban New Vape and Betting Shops
Russia’s A7 Builds a State-Linked Payments Network Beyond Western Sanctions
Hyper-Realistic Reborn Dolls Draw Collectors Seeking Comfort and Craft
Gen Z Cuts Back on Dating as a Night Out Nears $200
Patients Turn to Artificial Intelligence for Therapy as Psychiatrists Warn of Privacy and Clinical Risks
Couples Embrace ‘Sleep Divorce’ to Protect Rest and Reduce Tension
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million and Change Facebook and Instagram Safeguards for Children
Up to only 10 Months in Prison for Swedish Officer’s Murderer Sparks Anger
Success: Nvidia Turned Gaming Chips Into the Engine of the AI Boom
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
×