Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis puts on his mask as he leaves a news conference at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Monday, July 13, 2020, in Miami. DeSantis acknowledged Monday that the new coronavirus is spreading and urged people to take precautions such as wearing masks in public places, social distancing and avoiding crowds. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida's skyrocketing coronavirus death rate is now higher than any other state, edging out Texas, which has about 25% more people.
Florida recorded another 134 deaths Tuesday, bringing its daily average for the past week to 115, topping the 112 deaths a day Texas has reported during that time, Associated Press statistics show. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 coronavirus deaths a day.
Overall, 5,317 people have died in Florida from COVID-19 since March 1 and nearly 370,000 have tested positive for the disease. About 19% of tests have returned positive in Florida over the last week, compared to 10% a month ago and 2.3% in late May.
The state reported that an additional 517 people have been admitted to hospitals with the disease.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has a scheduled news conference Tuesday afternoon to discuss the outbreak.
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Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak.
