Florida COVID-19 death toll tops 18,000 as state reports more than 9,000 new cases

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida reported 9,085 new coronavirus cases on Thursday.

To date, there have been 914,333 cases of COVID-19 statewide.

State health officials also reported another 81 deaths linked to COVID-19. Of those, 21 were reported in Central Florida, including nine in Osceola County.

READ: Coronavirus: US death toll surpasses 250K as total COVID-19 cases near 11.5M

According to the state, Florida’s death toll now stands at 18,030. Of those, 220 were not Florida residents.

Total deaths in the United States attributed to the novel coronavirus surpassed a quarter of a million late Wednesday, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally.

READ: What are your chances of coming into contact with someone who has COVID-19? This tool will tell you

In addition, the nation has recorded nearly half a million new COVID-19 cases since Sunday, bringing the overall total to 11,485,176, or roughly 20% of all global cases.

The official U.S. virus-related death count hit 250,029 on Wednesday evening. Read more about the total number of cases in the U.S. here.

READ: Timeline to develop coronavirus vaccines for young children uncertain, doctors say

Gov. Ron Desantis said Thursday that Florida’s hospitals will “hopefully” receive COVID-19 vaccines in the next three to six weeks, pending FDA approval.

One of the first hospitals to get a vaccine locally will be AdventHealth. Click here to read more about the vaccine and how it may be distributed in Central Florida.

READ: DeSantis says Florida hospitals could receive COVID-19 vaccine in 3 to 6 weeks

See a county-by-county breakdown of total (and new) cases and deaths below, and click here for an interactive map of cases statewide.

COUNTY-BY-COUNTY

Orange: 53,384 (+522) - 619 (+6)

Osceola: 16,693 (+202) - 238 (+9)

Seminole: 11,887 (+101) - 261 (+2)

Polk: 25,897 (+201) - 656 (-1)

Volusia: 14,681 (+118) - 351 (+1)

Brevard: 14,112 (+164) - 418 (+2)

Flagler: 2,484 (+18) - 41 (+0)

Lake: 9,872 (+57) - 243 (0)

Marion: 12,061 (+109) - 372 (+1)

Sumter: 3,230 (+18) - 91 (+0)

‘This is not a joke’: COVID victim’s twin sister urges others to continue taking the virus seriously The family and friends of an Orlando woman who died of COVID-19 want to encourage others to remain vigilant against the virus. (, /WFTV)

Cox Media Group