Florida reported 22,783 new cases of COVID-19 and 199 deaths on Thursday as it continued to get hit hard by the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus, information posted by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday shows.
Florida accounted for 28 percent of the 700 deaths reported nationally for the day and nearly 25 percent of the 92,282 new COVID-19 cases. Meanwhile, more than 84 percent of the beds in Florida hospitals were occupied, totaling 45,599 patients, according to the latest available data posted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Just more than 23 percent of the beds were filled with people who have COVID-19, including 174 pediatric patients. No other state reported having as many as 20 percent of its hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients.
Meanwhile, 33 hospitals reported experiencing a “critical staffing shortage” as of Thursday. Another 168 facilities said they did not have a critical shortage. An additional 59 hospitals didn’t report their status.
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This article appears in Aug 4-10, 2021.