ORLANDO, Fla. – Even with word of a coronavirus vaccine being just around the corner, the reminders of the pandemic are still showing.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell, as the nation celebrated Thanksgiving last week, to a still-high 712,000, the latest sign that the U.S. economy and job market remain under stress from the intensified viral outbreak.
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“Thanksgiving seasonals likely explain the drop” in jobless claims last week, said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, in a research note. “Expect a rebound (in jobless claims) next week.”
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Most experts say the economy won’t be able to sustain a recovery until the virus is brought under control with an effective and widely used vaccine.
Meanwhile, for months Congress has failed to agree on any new stimulus aid for jobless individuals and struggling businesses after the expiration of a multi-trillion dollar rescue package enacted in March.
This week, though, efforts to forge some limited short-term rescue package have intensified. Democrats have scaled back their demands for a $2 trillion-plus measure by more than half in hopes of breaking the logjam.
[READ MORE: US jobless claims remain high at 712,000 as coronavirus escalates]
[READ YESTERDAY’S REPORT: Florida reports another 10,000 COVID-19 cases as CDC repeats travel warning]
Below is a breakdown of Florida’s COVID-19 numbers for Friday, Dec. 4.
Cases
The Florida Department of Health reported 10,177 new cases on Friday, bringing the state’s overall total to 1,039,207 cases since March.
Deaths
The Florida Department of Health on Friday reported 124 people have recently died from COVID-19. As of Friday’s coronavirus report, a total of 19,236 deaths across the state have been related to the coronavirus, a number that includes 242 non-resident deaths in Florida.
State health officials have always maintained that virus fatalities are often delayed in being reported to the FDOH, with some deaths not reported for a month or more.
Hospitalizations
As of Friday afternoon, there are currently 4,334 people with the virus hospitalized in Florida, according to the state Agency for Health Care Administration.
In total, 56,095 people have been hospitalized in Florida after complications from the coronavirus. The state reported 275 new hospitalizations on Friday.
Positivity rate
The percent of positive results ranged from 8.09% to 10.99% during the past two weeks and was 9.36% Thursday.
Below is a county-by-county breakdown of COVID-19 data for the Central Florida region.
| County | Cases | New Cases | Hospitalizations | New Hospitalizations | Deaths | New Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brevard | 16,376 | 168 | 1,225 | 5 | 452 | 1 |
| Flagler | 2,838 | 26 | 197 | 1 | 43 | 0 |
| Lake | 10,982 | 83 | 860 | 7 | 258 | 0 |
| Marion | 13,644 | 182 | 1,186 | 6 | 389 | 5 |
| Orange | 60,392 | 601 | 1,810 | 7 | 651 | -1 |
| Osceola | 19,255 | 189 | 964 | 2 | 245 | 0 |
| Polk | 28,640 | 241 | 3,014 | 18 | 697 | 6 |
| Seminole | 13,427 | 104 | 836 | 1 | 282 | 2 |
| Sumter | 3,644 | 42 | 332 | 3 | 101 | 3 |
| Volusia | 17,080 | 159 | 1,129 | 11 | 373 | 2 |
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