ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – One of Florida’s counties hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic welcomed students back for in-person learning Monday for the first time since spring.
Some 22,000 pre-K, kindergarten and first grade students were the first to return to the nation’s fourth largest school district in Miami-Dade County. Another 40,000 students will return Wednesday before a final wave of students returns on Friday. The remaining students will continue distance learning from their homes. Neighboring Broward County, the nation’s sixth largest school district, will welcome some students back on Friday.
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On Monday, the Florida Department of Health reported 41 people have recently died from coronavirus. The fatalities bring the state death toll up to 14,886, including 174 non-resident deaths.
State health officials have always maintained that virus fatalities are often delayed in being reported to the DOH but some deaths are not reported for a month or more.
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Florida health officials reported 1,415 new cases of coronavirus Monday. The new cases bring Florida’s total to 717,874 for people who have tested positive for the virus, which was first detected in the state in March. Data shows coronavirus numbers have historically trended lower after the weekend.
Currently, there are 2,081 people hospitalized in Florida with the virus, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration, an increase by about 20 patients in the last 24 hours.
The state reported 66 new hospitalizations on Monday, bringing the total to 44,775 for individuals who have been hospitalized since March because of the illness.
More than 5.4 million people in Florida have been tested for the respiratory illness since March.
Florida’s rate for those who tested positive for the first time was 3.93%, compared to the overall tests reported in one day. The state’s overall infection rate stands at 13.25%.
The percent of positive results in Florida ranged from 3.74% to 5.86% over the past two weeks, according to the department of health.
[YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida officials report over 200 new deaths, 86 new hospitalizations related to COVID-19]
If you are having trouble viewing the dashboard on mobile, click here.
Below is a breakdown of COVID-19 cases in the Central Florida region:
| County | Cases | New cases | Hospitalizations | New hospitalizations | Deaths | New deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 9,399 | 26 | 843 | 0 | 308 | 3 |
| Flagler | 1,793 | 6 | 151 | 1 | 29 | 1 |
| Lake | 7,712 | 19 | 609 | 0 | 197 | 0 |
| Marion | 9,969 | 31 | 986 | 2 | 305 | 2 |
| Orange | 41,055 | 115 | 1,385 | 3 | 483 | 2 |
| Osceola | 12,798 | 38 | 670 | 4 | 159 | 1 |
| Polk | 20,500 | 75 | 2,116 | 2 | 533 | 2 |
| Seminole | 9,250 | 37 | 675 | 0 | 228 | 1 |
| Sumter | 2,458 | 12 | 258 | 1 | 73 | 0 |
| Volusia | 11,150 | 40 | 848 | 0 | 261 | 1 |
Here are three things to know about the coronavirus pandemic for Monday, Oct. 5.
- How long will Trump be quarantined? There is nothing more important to the Trump campaign than having its principal healthy and back on the campaign trail. For now, no one knows when that might happen. A best-case scenario might allow Trump to emerge just before the next presidential debate, scheduled for Oct. 15. (The CDC says infected people can see others 10 days after symptoms first appear at the earliest, so long as symptoms are improving.) Trump could leave the hospital on Monday at the earliest, his doctors said Sunday, but his health remains in flux.
- Fixing face mask woes: Wearing masks is essential to slowing the spread of COVID-19. But that doesn’t mean you have to put up with the annoyances that come from wearing them, such as fogged-up glasses, ear irritation, and even acne. Consumer Reports has a list of tips so you can keep others safe as well as yourself and stay comfortable at the same time. Click here to find out how to fix the most annoying things about wearing a face mask.
- Regal movie theaters close again: Regal cinemas in the U.S. will close again not because of health concerns but because of the lack of new films drawing customers, the company announced Monday. Shares in the company that owns the Regal, Cineworld and Picturehouse movie theaters fell as much as 58% after the announcement. Cineworld Group Plc said Monday that 536 Regal cinemas in the U.S. and 127 Cineworld and Picturehouse venues in the U.K. would close on Thursday. Some 45,000 employees are affected.
To keep up with the latest news on the pandemic, subscribe to News 6′s coronavirus newsletter or go to ClickOrlando.com/coronavirus.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.