As Florida prepares for spring break crowds, state sees COVID-19 deaths and cases decline

Florida health officials reported 66 new COVID-19 deaths on Sunday, which is the lowest daily death total since Thanksgiving.

Cases have also been decreasing over the last few weeks, and it looks like Florida is finally starting to see the death rate catch up with that drop.

There has always been a lag in COVID-19 death reports because people who die from the virus are usually in the hospital for a little while first.

Watch: All school staff can now make COVID-19 vaccine appointments at Orange County Convention Center

Data showed this decrease in deaths was coming, and it will hopefully continue into the fall.

But there are still some concerns about what could happen in the state after spring break.

Looking back at the entire pandemic, it’s clear to see which months were the deadliest.

For Orange County, the biggest mortality surge of the pandemic was summer 2020. There were around 227 deaths in July and another 189 in August.

Watch: Publix COVID-19 vaccination appointments fully booked: Here’s your next chance to sign up

Then, the high death numbers dropped for a few months but came right back up around the holidays.

The county saw 120 deaths in December and 226 deaths in January, only one fewer death than July.

The numbers are still being finalized for February, but it appears the deaths dropped off pretty drastically last month.

Data continues to show that decline early into March.

“We see that both cases, hospitalizations, and death count is coming down,” Dr. Aftab Khan said. “That’s the good news. But we must be vigilant and continue public health measures to stop the spread of this vicious virus.”

Watch: When could we stop wearing face masks? Here’s what local officials are saying

Khan said there is no doubt about it – the vaccine has saved hundreds, even thousands of lives by now.

As the vaccination efforts ramp up over the next month or two, we can hopefully get to a place where no one else dies from COVID-19.

See the full report in the video above.

Cox Media Group