As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, there are 15,456 cases of the new coronavirus confirmed in Florida, an increase of 709 since FDOH’s last update yesterday evening.

The death toll increased by 13 overnight reported among in Broward, Dade, Highlands, Monroe and Palm Beach counties.

A total of 143,247 individuals have been tested: 127,679 have tested negative, 112 tests were inconclusive and 1,324 tests are pending results. Of those testing positive, 1,955 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There have been 309 deaths.

Florida’s testing has increased over the past week, the percent of those testing positive for COVID-19 overall is 11 percent. Of the 12,590 tests performed on April 7, there were 1,243 positive results, or 10 percent.

In Lee County, 462 individuals, ranging from as young as 2 to as old as 100, have tested positive as of 11 a.m. Wednesday; 167 in Fort Myers, 99 in Cape Coral, 70 in Lehigh Acres, 49 in Bonita Springs, 20 in Estero, 15 in North Fort Myers, six in Sanibel, five on Fort Myers Beach, four in Alva and one on Captiva. Three positives were not classified by community. There have been 14 deaths in Lee County, all but one age 62 to 96. The exception was a 39-year-old man who died March 25.

COVID-19 is a highly contagious viral disease. For most individuals, symptoms are mild. For a minority, the disease becomes a type of viral pneumonia with severe complications. Especially at risk are those who are older, those with underlying health conditions and the immune-compromised.

Officials strongly urges all members of the public who can, remain at home so as to limit exposure and so limit the number of cases so as to not overwhelm the health care system with at-risk and severe cases.

As of Tuesday evening, Lee Health had 51 COVID-19 patients isolated in system hospitals. Fourty-two patients who had tested positive have been discharged.

The system has submitted a total of 4,554 specimens for testing.

Lee Health mobile collection sites on Monday collected 154 specimens and had a total of 614 telemedicine visits between Lee TeleHealth and MyChart Video.The system has 80 patients under investigation.

Lee Health has 149 employees quarantined at home, Seventeen employees have tested positive for COVID-19 after being exposed at work.

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

To find the most up-to-date information and guidance on COVID-19, visit the Department of Health’s dedicated COVID-19 webpage. For information and advisories from the Centers for Disease Control, visit the CDC COVID-19 website. For more information about current travel advisories issued by the U.S. Department of State, visit the travel advisory website.

For any other questions related to COVID-19 in Florida, 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.