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Manatee County Sees Nine COVID-19 Deaths Friday; Florida's New Cases Near 25,000

Florida Department of Health COVID-19 dashboard
Florida Department of Health
The number of people who've tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida is nearing 25,000. There were 1,413 new cases Friday, and Manatee County reported 9 deaths; the largest daily increase for any Tampa Bay county since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Florida saw an increase of 1,413 new cases of COVID-19 Friday.

The Department of Health reported 24,753 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the state.

726 people have died from the coronavirus - an increase of 58 since Thursday evening.

Manatee County reported nine deaths between Thursday and Friday evenings - the largest daily increase for any Tampa Bay county since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Sarasota County listed five new deaths; Pinellas reported two; Hillsborough and Polk counties each listed one.

The Pinellas deaths are believed to have been residents of a Seminole nursing home that was evacuated Friday. The medical examiner's office in Pinellas County reported a third person at the home died - a date on that death was not reported.

The patients, an 84-year-old woman, 74-year-old man, and 66-year-old man were among dozens of people who were evacuated after the virus spread through the nursing home.

Tampa Bay area positive tests as of 6 p.m. Friday, April 17:  

  • Hillsborough: 924 (883 local, 41 non-resident)
  • Pinellas: 565 (524 local, 41 non-resident)
  • Manatee: 326 (324 local, 2 non-resident)
  • Polk: 316 (310 local, 6 non-resident)
  • Sarasota: 274 (259 local, 15 non-resident)
  • Pasco:192 (185 local, 7 non-resident)
  • Hernando: 83 (79 local, 4 non-resident)

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After more than 40 years learning and helping others understand more about so many aspects of our world and living in it, I still love making connections between national news stories and our community. It's exciting when I can find a thread between a national program or greater premise and what is happening at the local or personal level. This has been true whether I’ve spun the novelty tunes of Raymond Scott or Wilmoth Houdini from a tiny outpost in a Vermont field, or shared the voices of incarcerated women about what it’s like to be behind bars on Mother’s Day with the entire state of New Hampshire.
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