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Florida reports more than 6,500 new COVID-19 cases, 45 deaths including 7 in Central Florida

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Florida reported 6,500 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday as well as 45 additional deaths.

Of those deaths, seven were reported in Central Florida including four in Polk County and one each in Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties.

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“Coronavirus

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The state has now reported 158,997 cases of the virus and 3,550 deaths.

Orange County Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino said the county’s daily increases are still in the triple digits over the last three days, but are much lower than the three days previous to that.

Pino said that could be a result of the county’s mask ordinance taking effect.

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More than 138,000 people have now been tested in Orange County with a positivity rate of nearly 8%, which is up from the beginning of the week.

The median age for those testing positive remains low, at 31 years old.

Pino said 334 people in the hospital in the county, and 68 of those are in ICU beds.

Orange County Comptroller Phil Diamond said the tourist development tax only brought in $1.1 million, a 95% decrease from May of last year.

See a county-by-county breakdown of cases below, and click here for an interactive map of cases statewide:

Orange: 10,874 (+533)

Seminole: 2,682 (+116)

Volusia: 2,219 (+114)

Brevard: 1,962 (+169)

Osceola: 2,164 (+138)

Lake: 1,410 (+108)

Sumter: 368 (+23)

Marion: 727 (+55)

Flagler: 323 (+13)

Click here to find out where to find COVID-19 testing in Central Florida.

INTERACTIVE MAP: Coronavirus cases in Florida

Stay tuned to Channel 9 Eyewitness News for updates.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.