MIAMI (AP) - Health officials in Florida reported 150 new deaths from COVID-19 and 3,197 new confirmed cases as the positivity rate continued to drop in the state.
The new deaths raised the total death toll to 11,246 deaths. They bring the average daily toll reported over the past week to 120.
The number of new known cases is down from peaks averaging nearly 12,000 daily in mid-July.
The positivity rate in testing has averaged below 10 percent over the past week while the number of people being treated in Florida hospitals for COVID-19 has also been declining to about 3,800 since highs of more than 9,500 on July 23.
Despite the downward trend, Florida school districts have seen positive cases of coronavirus that have prompted officials to quarantine hundreds of students for possible exposure to the virus.
One middle school in an Orlando suburb decided to close down for two weeks and switch to online learning after some teachers and staff members fell ill. No students at the St. Cloud, Florida school were known to have tested positive for the virus.
In St. Lucie County, on Florida’s Treasure Coast, almost 200 students and 53 staff members were told to quarantine at home after some students tested positive for COVID-19 in the first week back to school, the Treasure Coast Newspapers reported.
In two school districts along the Florida Panhandle, nearly 250 students had to be sent home from school to quarantine due to being exposed to COVID-19, news outlets reported.
Follow AP coverage of the virus outbreak at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
Please read our comment policy before commenting.