As of 11 a.m. Friday, there are 17,531 cases of the new coronavirus confirmed in Florida, an increase of 705 since FDOH’s last update Thursday evening.

The death toll increased by 19 overnight reported among Broward, Dade, Hernando, Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach and Seminole counties.

A total of 162,993 individuals have been tested: 145,299 have tested negative, 163 tests were inconclusive and 1,411 tests are pending results. Of those testing positive, 2,149 have been hospitalized at some point during their illness. There have been 390 deaths.

While Florida’s testing has increased over the past week, the percentage of those testing positive for COVID-19 overall is 11 percent. Of the 15,485 tests performed on April 8, there were 1,315 positive results, or 8 percent.

In Lee County, 547 individuals, ranging from as young as 2 to as old as 100, have tested positive as of 11 a.m. Wednesday; 205 in Fort Myers, 116 in Cape Coral, 85 in Lehigh Acres, 53 in Bonita Springs, 20 in Estero, 21 in North Fort Myers, six in Sanibel, five on Fort Myers Beach, four in Alva and one on Captiva. Five 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 Thursday afternoon, Lee Health had 71 COVID-19 patients isolated in system hospitals. Sixty patients who had tested positive have been discharged.

The system has submitted a total of 5,214 specimens for testing.

Lee Health mobile collection sites on Wednesday collected 206 specimens and had a total of 520 telemedicine visits between Lee TeleHealth and MyChart Video.The system has 14 patients under investigation.

Lee Health has 132 employees quarantined at home. Twenty-four 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.